.png)
2 hours ago
1
The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), on Tuesday, rescued eight children suspected to have been abducted from Kano and other northern states and trafficked to the South–South and South–East by an interstate child trafficking syndicate.
According to the agency, the children, aged between two and ten years, were discovered in a privately run orphanage allegedly managed by a senior executive of the Association of Orphanage Operators in Nigeria. More than 70 children, including 15 newborns, were reportedly found at the facility, though only eight were identified as missing from Kano.
The operation, described as intelligence-driven, was carried out in collaboration with the Department of State Services (DSS) in Anambra, the Nigeria Police in Delta, the Kano State Ministry of Women Affairs, and several civil society groups, with distressed parents also participating.
Director General of NAPTIP, Dr. Binta Bello, while confirming the operation, condemned what she termed the “unwholesome activities” of some orphanages across the country. She said the breakthrough followed years of complaints from parents in Kano and neighbouring states, dating back to 2017, over the abduction of children from schools, markets, and residential areas.
She recalled that in December 2022, a Kano-based NGO, Protection Against the Abduction and Missing of Our Children (PATAMOOC), petitioned the agency on behalf of over 200 affected parents. The petition described the anguish of families, noting that some parents had fallen ill or even died from the trauma of losing their children.
“It was this outcry that set off discreet investigations, leading to coordinated raids in Anambra and Delta. While the Anambra operation was thwarted after the children were moved overnight, the raid in Asaba yielded results,” Bello explained. “More than 70 children, including 15 newborns, were found crammed into the orphanage. Eight of them were positively identified as missing from Kano and were immediately rescued.”
Expressing concern over the scale of the discovery, Bello questioned the legitimacy of such institutions: “Imagine over 70 children inside one orphanage, with the number increasing daily. The big question is, where are these children from?”
She also criticised the orphanage operator for evading investigation: “Instead of honouring invitations from our Kano Zonal Command, the owner has been lobbying government agencies and spreading falsehoods on social media. That will not distract us from carrying out our mandate.”
Bello confirmed that the rescued children have since been reunited with their families in Kano. She called on state ministries of women affairs to intensify oversight of orphanages nationwide and pledged that NAPTIP would continue to enforce the Trafficking in Persons (Control of Activities of Organisations and Centres) Regulations 2019.
“This operation underscores our commitment to combat the trafficking and sale of children, protect the vulnerable, and ensure justice in line with the law,” she said.
The post NAPTIP rescues eight stolen children from interstate trafficking syndicate appeared first on Latest Nigeria News | Top Stories from Ripples Nigeria.
