NAPTIP rescues 14 victims, arrests 3 for human trafficking

The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) has rescued 14 victims and arrested three suspected human traffickers. The suspects, Evelyn Jerry, 27, Stephen Rebecca, 30, and Richard Patrick, 38, were reportedly intercepted by men of the Nigerian Army on official duty in Lokoja, Kogi State, and handed over to the Nigeria […]

The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) has rescued 14 victims and arrested three suspected human traffickers.

The suspects, Evelyn Jerry, 27, Stephen Rebecca, 30, and Richard Patrick, 38, were reportedly intercepted by men of the Nigerian Army on official duty in Lokoja, Kogi State, and handed over to the Nigeria Immigration Services (NIS) Lokoja, which subsequently handed them over to NAPTIP.

The 14 victims, aged between three and 13 years, and comprising of nine females and five males, were said to be crammed into an eight-seater sedan. They were said to have been taken from Riyom Local Government Area of Plateau State and were on their way to Ekpoma, Edo State, when they were intercepted and rescued.

The suspects reportedly confessed that they were taking the children to Ekpoma where they would be distributed to various households for labour purposes. They claimed that the parents of the 14 children gave them consent to take the children and send them to various households for domestic labour.

The DG of NAPTIP, Julie Okah-Donli, said such acts fuel the incidences of child exploitative labour, adding that the agency will not tolerate such abuse on children.