5 minors rescued, 2 traffickers nabbed in Edo

The police have arrested two female suspects, Vera Okhakhu and Blessing Agbokha, over alleged trafficking of five minors in Edo…

The police have arrested two female suspects, Vera Okhakhu and Blessing Agbokha, over alleged trafficking of five minors in Edo State.

The children, it was gathered, who were travelling unaccompanied, were heading to Onitsha in Anambra State from Kaduna when they were rescued in Auchi.

The minors, said to be between seven and nine years old, arrived Auchi from Kaduna and were trying to establish contact with the two suspected female traffickers who were supposed to take them to Onitsha when their co-passengers became suspicious as they were too young to travel on their own for such a distance.

The children were said to have told the co-passengers that they were to meet some persons in Auchi who would take them to Onitsha.

• NIGERIA DAILY: How Abuja Estate Got Submerged
• Naira devaluation: Nigerian banks heading for ‘recapitalisation’

It was further gathered that at the Onitsha Park in Auchi, the women were called to come over and pick up the children and in the process they were apprehended and handed over to the police.

The suspects, when questioned, confessed to be child traffickers and that they were taking the children to Onitsha for menial jobs.

When contacted, the Edo State Police Command’s spokesperson, Chidi Nwabuzor, said he would get back to our reporter.