The National Agency for Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), Makurdi Zonal Command, has arrested two suspects in connection with sale of babies.
The Zonal Commander, Mrs Gloria Bai, disclosed this in her office while speaking to journalists on successes made by the command recently.
Mrs Bai said the culprits will be charged to court as soon as the courts resume.
According to her, the command, in recent times, has received seven cases of trafficking involving 13 children out of which only three had been rescued.
“Also, we have two young boys who were taken from Gboko and sold out in Lagos. The syndicate has been arrested and the case is in court, and the boys were rescued with the help of the Nigerian police.
The Zonal Commander said the most recent concerns were cases involving young girls who have had pregnancies out of wedlock and some did not know who were responsible for their pregnancies.
“Traffickers have started using that opportunity, preying on the vulnerability of these young girls because they are vulnerable, some are even driven from home after the pregnancy.
“The traffickers now are using that avenue to deceive these young girls, take them somewhere, make them have the babies and then sell the babies. We have received so many cases.
“Right now we have arrested two suspects who are members of the syndicate involved in luring young girls who are pregnant and deceiving them to have the babies and after that they sell the babies.
“We know that there are cases where some of them are told that the babies are dead and they are not even paid one kobo and some were just paid some stipends,” she said.
Mrs Bai further explained that the command had other cases among them, a girl who was taken to Abia state whose baby was sold and was given N100,000, as well as a case where a woman came from Bayelsa state and bought a baby, these babies, she said were yet to be recovered.
She expressed worry that Benue state was becoming a hub for sale of babies, explaining that, “We had a case where a woman came from Bayelsa to buy the baby and we also have intelligence that some others are coming from the East. People are ready to traffick young girls and also deceive them into selling their babies.”
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Mrs Bai appealed to the government to assist those in the rural areas so that they are not susceptible to this form of human trafficking which is sale of babies.
She called on parents to watch out for their children and be mindful of what they are doing stressing that “If a girl is pregnant that doesn’t mean the end for the girl. Parents should allow their children to open up to them and watch carefully what is happening around them because the traffickers are around and they are actually taking advantage of these young girls.”
She appreciated security operatives in the state, particularly, the DSS for their assistance to track down the syndicates and urged the media to partner with NAPTIP to sensitize the public about activities of traffickers.
“We are going to sensitize more people through town hall meetings with communities because most of the victims are from the less privileged homes where parents don’t have good means of livelihood. So we need to talk to them.
“One of the main visions of the new Director General of NAPTIP, Engr. Basheer Mohammed, is to bring everyone on board, tell them about human trafficking so as to stem the tide and I am committed to that,” she said.
