Children were allegedly being taken abroad under the guise of securing better educational opportunities.
The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), Kebbi State Command, has rescued five underage children from suspected traffickers allegedly taking them to the Benin Republic under the guise of securing better education.
The children were rescued in Edo State from a suspected trafficker identified as Pastor Ayuba while he was allegedly transporting them towards the Benin Republic.
The NAPTIP Commander in Kebbi State, Misbahu Iya Kaura, disclosed this on Monday night while handing over the children to the Kebbi State Government at the Government House in Birnin Kebbi.
Iya Kaura said the suspect claimed to have obtained the parents’ consent to take the children to the Benin Republic for schooling and better educational opportunities.
He, however, warned that traffickers often use such promises to gain parents’ trust before subjecting children to exploitation.
“This is how they convince people to carry their children under the pretext of enrolling them in schools abroad, but end up abusing them or putting them into slavery,” he said.
The commander said the principal suspect had been arrested and would be prosecuted after investigations are concluded.
Receiving the children on behalf of the state government, Deputy Governor Senator Abubakar Umar Tafidan Kabi, who represented Governor Nasir Idris, warned parents against allowing strangers to take their children abroad without proper verification.
He said parents should carefully establish the intentions of anyone offering to facilitate their children’s education outside Nigeria.
The deputy governor also warned that parents who knowingly facilitate human trafficking would face the full weight of the law.
He subsequently reunited the rescued children with their parents.
One of the parents, Emmanuel Aduba, expressed appreciation to the Kebbi State Government and NAPTIP for rescuing the children.