The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), on Friday, reunited the remaining nine of the 19 children rescued from their abductors with their families in Kebbi.
The Head of NAPTIP in the state, Misbahu Kaura, handed over the children to their parents at the Government House in the presence of Gov. Nasir Idris.
Mr Kaura told the governor that the agency rescued the 19 children from Calabar and other parts of the Niger Delta region and also caught and detained the alleged abductors.
“Your Excellency, the case is in court, the nine children before you are those who testified in court.
“NAPTIP is here to seek your permission to reunite them with their parents.
“Both the District Head of the area where they hailed from and their parents are present, we solicit your permission to hand them over to their parents.
“NAPTIP investigation shows that the human traffickers have agents in Zuru, deceiving parents to release their children for schooling purposes in Gusau, Zamfara.
“Unfortunately, from Gusau, the children were trafficked to Calabar, sold into slavery for between N280,000 and above, while the buyers renamed them to avoid detection.
“We succeeded in arresting the traffickers and buyers, and consequently prosecuting them before the court of law,” Kaura said.
He thanked the governor for donating an operational vehicle to the agency and appealed for the inclusion of NAPTIP in the State Government’s monthly allowance security agencies.
Responding, the governor urged the agency to sustain its enlightenment programme against child and human trafficking.
He vowed that the government would prosecute anyone involved in such nefarious act of child trafficking up to the Supreme Court.
“I am also warning parents seriously not to be accomplices in child trafficking, any parent found to surrender their children for monetary benefits will face prosecution.
“The government will give N100,000 cash to each of the nine children here now, while the parents and the District Head, will also receive assistance to travel back to their places,” he said.
The governor also directed the Secretary to the State Government, Alhaji Yakubu Bala-Tafida, to include NAPTIP among the beneficiaries of the monthly allowances provided to security agencies for operational functions.
NAN
