Soldiers have arrested four suspected human traffickers and rescued 14 children in Lokoja, Kogi State.
The suspects were said to have taken their victims from Plateau State and were heading for Ekpoma in Edo State when they were intercepted by the soldiers.
The spokesman of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), Nneka Aniagoh, gave the names of the suspects as Evelyn Jerry, 27; Stephen Rebecca, 30 and Richard Patrick, 38.
Nneka said they were intercepted by men of the Nigerian Army on official duty in Lokoja, Kogi State, and were handed over to the Nigeria Immigration Services, Lokoja, before they were subsequently handed over to the NAPTIP.
She said the 14 victims, nine females and five males, were crammed into an eight-seater vehicle with registration number: JJN 964XB.
“They were taken from Riyom Local Government Area of Plateau state, and on their way to Ekpoma, Edo State before they were intercepted and rescued. The suspects, who are from the same town with the victims, confessed that they were taking the children to Ekpoma where they would be distributed to various households for labour purposes. They claimed that the parents of the 14 children gave them consent to take the children and send them to various households for domestic labour”, she said.
Credit: Daily Trust
