12 hours ago
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The Plateau State Gender and Equal Opportunities Commission, in collaboration with security agencies, has rescued five children who were about to be trafficked to Calabar, Cross Rivers State.
The suspects, three women, were arrested at Ngo Tallatu Jang motor park in Jos.
DAILYPOST gathered that three of the children were from Utan community in Jos North LGA, while the other two (twins) are from Irigwe chiefdom in Bassa LGA of the State.
The names of the suspects are given as Lydia Bulus, Linda Monday and Esther Solomon.
Chairperson of the Commission, Olivia Dazyam, expressed sadness that despite awareness campaigns, people are still engaging in human trafficking.
“This morning, together with the wife of the chairman, Basa local government, and the staff of NAPTIP, we acted on a tip-off and rescued these children.
“It’s very sad, gentlemen of the press, we’re together with the children, suspects, and parents who gave their children to be taken to unknown places,” Dazyam said.
Dazyam emphasised that the law is clear: child trafficking is a serious offense.
“I want to call on the people of Plateau State to unite and say no to these activities.
“Virtually all our local governments have perpetrators, and we must work together to fish them out,” she said.
The Commission has appealed to local governments, especially those considered hot spots, to cooperate in the fight against human trafficking.
Dazyam praised the wife of the chairman of Bassa local government area, Mrs Miriam Roti, for her prompt response to the situation.
The investigation is ongoing, and the suspects are expected to provide more information on the trafficking network.
Dazyam urged parents to follow due process when adopting or relocating children, saying, “Poverty is not an excuse for releasing your child to somebody you don’t know.”
The Commission has vowed to continue its efforts to combat human trafficking and protect the rights of children in Plateau State.
Mrs Miriam Riti, wife of the Chairman of Bassa Local Government of the State, while reacting to the incident, said, “I got a call concerning this trafficking, concerning the trafficking of some children from my local government. So I came to the gender commission, and I saw these little kids.
“It’s really, really disheartening that in Bassa local government, this kind of cases keeps reoccurring, despite the awareness campaign, the effort, the little empowerment we give to the parents to enable them do something so that they can make a little sacrifice for their children.
“Basically, from experience, I can say that it’s mostly as a result of the abdication of duties by the parents
“We pray that God will continue to touch the parents, because now we’ve done our part, and we’ll continue to do it”, she admonished.
Plateau gender commission rescues 5 children billed for trafficking to Calabar
