The operatives of the Nigeria Immigration Service, Ekiti State Command rescued eight children being trafficked from Benue State to Lagos and Oyo states.
NIS Comptroller, Ekiti State Command, Mr Alphonsus Achilonu also announced that a suspect was arrested for alleged involvement in the trafficking of the children for child labour.
Achilonu, who disclosed that the victims have reunited with their family said;
“NIS Anti-Human Trafficking squad, acting on a tip-off and through intelligence gathering, arrested one man while trafficking the eight children, who are minors, to their end users in Lagos and Ibadan.
“He confessed that he brought the children from Benue State.
“The eight victims had been reunited with their families. Many people are in the business. They have to be checked at all cost and the best approach is for the government, parents and all well-meaning Nigerians to ensure that they are sincere with the provision of basic needs for these children, put them in schools, create enabling environment, and provide jobs for them.
“We should not pay lip service to it. Government should come up with stringent laws and policies to curtail traffickers. Some of them are fond of using commercial drivers as delivering agents of these innocent children to their end users.
“What we do to whoever we arrest is to investigate properly, gather evidence, and handover the person to National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons office in Osogbo, Osun State for diligent prosecution.”
By Feranmi Okuku
