NAPTIP Director-General, Binta Bello, with some of the children rescued from the alleged trafficking network. The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) says it has rescued more than 180 children allegedly trafficked from five states by criminal groups posing as civil society organisations and offering educational support to families affected by insecurity.
Vincent Adekoye, Head of Press and Public Relations Unit at NAPTIP, disclosed this in a statement issued on Monday in Abuja. Mr Adekoye said the latest operation led to the recovery of three children allegedly taken from a displaced family in Kajuru, Kaduna State, and another child found in the care of a nurse at the Federal Medical Centre, Onitsha, Anambra State.
The development follows findings by PREMIUM TIMES that more than 300 children were allegedly taken from Yelewata, Daudu and Agban communities in Guma Local Government Area of Benue State in 2024 after individuals presented themselves as operators of a “Back-to-School” programme for vulnerable children. Parents interviewed by PREMIUM TIMES said they were promised that their children would receive free education, food, and accommodation, and would return home during the Christmas and Easter holidays.
Instead, many of the children were allegedly taken to orphanage homes in Abuja and Nasarawa State before being dispersed to other locations. NAPTIP said the first batch of children recovered during its latest operation included children allegedly taken from communities in Benue and Nasarawa states. The agency said some were subsequently distributed to orphanages, where they were allegedly sold to individuals under the guise of adoption.
The agency’s investigation into the Benue operation had previously linked Anderson Archibong, Executive Secretary of the National Council of Child Rights Advocates of Nigeria (NACCRAN), to the alleged trafficking network.