The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Person (NAPTIP) has handed over to the Nasarawa State government, 12 trafficked children intercepted on their way to Lagos State.
Handing over the children to the Nasarawa government in Lafia, Moses Unongo, NAPTIP’s head of operations in the state, said the victims were intercepted by the operatives of the Nigeria Police Force, in Abuja, while enroute to Lagos.
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He alleged a cleric from Ninghar village in Akwanga local government area of Nasarawa (name withheld) attempted to traffick young persons for exploitative reasons. He said investigations were ongoing to unravel more facts about the culprit.
He noted that the victims who were between the ages of 10 and 23 years, were lured by the cleric to secure profitable jobs for them in Lagos, while the minors among them were promised quality education in the state.
He, therefore, called on parents not to fail in educating their children on the ills of trafficking, saying that, the agency will strengthen the sensitisation of the public not to fall victim to trafficking.
Receiving the victims on behalf of the Nasarawa State government, Aisha Rufai Ibrahim, commissioner for women affairs and social development, appreciated NAPTIP for being dutiful in curbing trafficking in the country.
She maintained that the state government has zero tolerance for trafficking of persons.
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The commissioner explained that the state has passed the Violence Against Persons Prohibition bill into law, a springboard for nipping the activities of traffickers in the bud.
