THE Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command has arrested two women attempting to traffick five children.
The FCT Police Command’s public relations officer (PRO), Josephine Adeh, disclosed this in a statement released on Thursday, May 2.
Adeh said the suspects, Kulu Dongonyaro and Elizabeth Ojah, had escaped arrest by the Sokoto State Police Command when security operatives apprehended them in the FCT.
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“The suspects who attempted to escape arrest from Sokoto police operatives were intercepted and arrested by FCT police operatives at Kagini junction, Abuja, while suspiciously conveying five children into the Federal Capital Territory.
“The FCT police command, in the spirit of oneness, has now handed the suspects and victims over to Sokoto State police command for further investigation and onward prosecution,” she noted.
Adeh also explained that the FCT Commissioner of Police (CP) Benneth Igweh urged parents to pay closer attention to their children.
“He also calls on residents to be vigilant and take advantage of the police emergency lines in reporting suspicious activities through: 08032003913, 08028940883, 08061581938, and 07057337653 PCB: 09022222352, CRU: 08107314192,” the statement read.
In February 2024, the FCT Police Command arrested three men who attempted to traffic 12 children.
The suspects had been conveying the children to Ogun state from Kaduna when the security operatives intercepted them.
Child trafficking has remained a significant challenge in Nigeria, with many young children sold into forced labour, prostitution, and other forms of exploitation.
A 2020 report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) noted that Nigeria was a major source, transit, and destination country for human trafficking.
According to another report, 80 per cent of children forced into labour are victims of child trafficking.
Ijeoma Opara is a journalist with The ICIR. Reach her via [email protected] or @ije_le on Twitter.