NAPTIP Nabs 3 Suspected Human Traffickers In Kogi State

The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking In Persons (NAPTIP) has nabbed three suspected human traffickers and rescued fourteen victims of human trafficking in Kogi State.

The suspects included two females identified to be Evelyn Jerry, 27 years old, Stephen Rebecca, 30 years old respectively with the inclusion of a male identified as Mr. Richard Patrick, 38 years old, were intercepted by men of the Nigerian Army on official duty in Lokoja, Kogi state, and they were given to the Nigeria Immigration Services (NIS) Lokoja, before they were subsequently handed over to NAPTIP for investigations.

The fourteen victims of the human trafficking, aged between three and thirteen years, and comprising of nine females and five males, were crammed into an eight-seater Seat Alhambra Sedan, with Plateau state registration number: JJN 964XB.

Meanwhile, the victims were then taken from Riyom Local Government Area of Plateau state, and on their way to Ekpoma, Edo State before they were intercepted and rescued.

READ ALSO >> EFCC Arraigns Suspected Yahoo Boy For Scamming US Citizen <<

The 3 arrested suspects, who are from the same town with the victims, gave a confession that they were taking the children to Ekpoma where they would be distributed to various households, for labour purposes.

However, the 3 suspects also claimed that the parents of the fourteen children gave them consent to take the children and send them to various households for domestic labour.

According to the Director-General of NAPTIP, Dame Julie Okah-Donli, she said:

“this is what the National referral mechanism, being put in place by NAPTIP and relevant organisations, aims to achieve. There needs to be a synergy in our collaboration towards the elimination of human trafficking from Nigeria”.

The Director-General of NAPTIP also used this as an avenue to warn the general public that the Trafficking In Persons (Prohibition) Enforcement and Administration Act, 2015, prohibits the employment of children below the age of twelve as domestic workers, and warned that those found guilty will be severely dealt with by the body,

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *