The Taraba command of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has arrested two suspects for allegedly attempting to traffick 16 children.
Speaking with reporters on Saturday, Adamu Salihu, Taraba NSCDC commandant, said the suspects were arrested on Thursday at the Jalingo main motor park with the children heading to Benin in Edo state.
He identified the suspects as Daniel Madin and Federation Markus.
Salihu said the victims, aged between 10 and 16, comprised of five girls and 11 boys. He added that they were taken from Zing and Bali LGAs of the state.
The commandant said preliminary investigations revealed that the suspects were part of a syndicate that specialised in trafficking underage children, promising them a brighter future in Edo state.
He decried the rate at which parents abdicate the responsibilities of raising their children.
“How can one give birth to children and expect others to take responsibility for their feeding, clothing, education, and general well-being?” NAN quoted Salihu as saying.
“Most of the children taken from the state are sold into child labour and prostitution while others are used as materials for baby factories, organ harvesting, and money rituals.
“My concern is that all the victims of this heinous crime are children who are of school age, but forced to leave school by their parents and relatives even now that the Taraba government has made basic education free and compulsory for all children.
“This trend must stop immediately.”
The NSCDC commandant called on relevant stakeholders in the state to take adequate measures to end the rising trend of human trafficking.
The suspects and the rescued children have been handed over to officials of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) for further investigation and prosecution.
