Man jailed 14 years for child trafficking
A Nasarawa State High Court sitting in Guruku, Mararaba has sentenced a 48-year-old pastor to 14 years imprisonment for child trafficking. The convict, Pastor Bawa Madaki from Kaduna State was arraigned by the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) on a two-count charge of fraudulently procuring two under-aged children (5 and […]
A Nasarawa State High Court sitting in Guruku, Mararaba has sentenced a 48-year-old pastor to 14 years imprisonment for child trafficking.
The convict, Pastor Bawa Madaki from Kaduna State was arraigned by the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) on a two-count charge of fraudulently procuring two under-aged children (5 and 7 years old) from their parents in Zango Kataf LGA of Kaduna State.
The court was told that Madaki subsequently sent one of the children to Lagos in an illegal adoption arrangement and the other to Abuja as a domestic worker, thus depriving their parents of the lawful custody of the children.
This, NAPTIP said contravenes Section 19(e) of the Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Law Enforcement and Administration Act, 2003 (as amended).
The case, which was filed on May 27, 2015, was transferred to NAPTIP by the police who acted on a tip-off. Officers of the agency thereafter moved in and rescued the children.
Delivering the judgment yesterday, the presiding judge, Justice Haruna Offor, convicted the accused person and thereafter sentenced him to 14 years’ imprisonment without option of fine.
Reacting to the judgment, the Director-General of NAPTIP, Dame Julie Okah-Donli, commended the tenacity of the prosecuting officers and the judiciary for ensuring that justice is served in the case. She used the opportunity to caution the public against illegal adoption and engaging under-aged children as domestic workers.
“These children are often maltreated and abused by their employers. People must desist from such acts as the arm of the law will catch up with them,” she said.