The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons in Nasarawa State has said that it intercepted 12 trafficked children who were on their way to Lagos State.
NAPTIP’s head of operations in the state, Moses Unongo who disclised this added that the victims, aged between 10 and 23 years, were lured by a cleric from Ninghar village in Akwanga Local Government Area of Nasarawa State.
The victims, who were intercepted in Abuja, were handed over to the Nasarawa State government.
Unongo stated that the cleric promised the victims profitable jobs in Lagos and quality education for the minors among them.
He said that investigations were ongoing to uncover more facts about the perpetrator, while enjoinig parents to sensitize their children about the dangers of trafficking.
He explained that NAPTIP is committed to sensitizing the public to prevent them from falling victim to trafficking.
The Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development in Nasarawa State, Aisha Rufai Ibrahim received the victims on behalf of the state government.
Rufai lauded NAPTIP’s efforts in combating trafficking and affirmed that the state government’s zero-tolerance stance on trafficking.
She explained that the state’s enactment of the Violence Against Persons Prohibition bill is to put an end to the activities of traffickers.
