A task force set up by the Plateau State Government has intercepted two children who were being trafficked to Lagos from the Langtang South Local Government Area of the state.
TheNigerian Metro gathered that two of the trafficked children were rescued while one female suspect was apprehended by the task force during the operation carried out on Saturday.
Confirming the incident on Sunday, the Plateau State Commissioner for Women Affairs, Mrs Caroline Panglang Dafur, stated that the victims were rescued at the Lagos park in Jos.
The commissioner said, “Underage Tarok children from Langtang South LGA were intercepted at a Lagos park in Jos, destined to be ‘waybilled’ to Lagos to work for an unknown madam. The trafficker was trailed and arrested by the Plateau State Joint Task Force on Trafficking. Mrs Manwor Ayuba has been arrested by the Plateau State Joint Task Force following the interception of the underaged children. Child labour and exploitation is a crime on the Plateau.”
Dafur however called on the residents to be vigilant and report any suspicious movement of traffickers to security forces to get rid of the menace in the state.
Meanwhile, a group, Christian Women for Excellence and Empowerment in Nigerian Society, has expressed serious concerns over the increasing cases of human trafficking in Plateau State describing it as a critical issue that requires an urgent solution.
Briefing journalists in Jos, the National Coordinator of CWEENS, Prof. Oluwafunmilayo Para-Mallam, who led other women groups and stakeholders to the press conference, recalled that the recent crackdown on a child trafficking syndicate by the Joint Task Force and the Force Intelligence Department-Intelligence Response Team in Jos, leading to the arrest of one Pastor Dayo Bernard, the mastermind behind the trafficking operation, and the rescue of five children aged between two and four years, highlighted the alarming surge in human trafficking in the state.
The organisation emphasised the need for heightened community awareness, parental vigilance, and reinforced state response mechanisms to protect vulnerable persons, particularly children, from exploitation.
“We highlight the urgent need for the government to address the root causes of trafficking, such as poverty and unemployment, by creating livelihood programmes, particularly for vulnerable families. Support women and youth through vocational training and grants to reduce the desperation that traffickers often exploit,” the group stated.
