Senator Ireti Kingibe, the Senator representing the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), has called for urgent action to end trafficking in children.
Kingibe who made the call at the weekend while moving a motion on the floor of the Senate, decried the ugly trend of kidnapping of children in the FCT by criminals, particularly in the three area council of Kuje, Gwagwalada and Kwali Area Councils, according to a press statement by Nana Sani Kazaure, SSA, Media/Press Secretary, to Sen. Kingibe.
Providing context for moving the motion, Sen. Kingibe stated that on the 18th of February 2024, she received a letter of complaint bordering on the stealing, abduction and trafficking of children allegedly being carried out by one Madam Success Nwankwo at the Gwagwalada, Kwali and Kuje Area Councils, from the Missing Children Parents Association, a non-governmental body based in the Gwagwalada Area Council of Abuja.
The statement further noted that in the letter, the association had complained that the kidnapping of children started sometime in 2018 and had continued unabated despite efforts made to curb it.
Sen. Kingibe noted that according to the letter, the said Madam Nwankwo was arrested on January 4th this year, with two missing children, by the Police and a vigilante team along the Gwagwalada -Zubairu Expressway.
“The association further stated in the letter that after investigations by the Police, it discovered that these abductions were carried out by a syndicate leading to the arrest of three persons, with others still at large.
Moving the motion for the Senate to take action on the matter, Sen. Kingibe said: “Worried that since the arrest of the perpetrators, only four children have been recovered out of the 40 alleged to be missing;
“Concerned that this organized crime has become a great threat to the peace and we’ll being of the three Area Councils and their environs and as such, it is imperative that urgent steps are taken to address this matter”.
Accordingly, the Senate resolves to urge the Nigerian Police, the Department of State Services and other relevant security agencies to be thoroughly involved in the matter with a view to bringing all the perpetrators to book, put modalities in place for the recovery of the missing children and to ensure that justice is not only seen to be done, but must be done speedily to serve as deterrent, as well as, assuage the feelings of the victims.
The Senate further urged the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons and Other Related Offences (NAPTIP), to as a matter of urgeny, put operational mechanisms in place for prompt responses to reported cases of human trafficking and baby factory incidents across the country.
The motion by Sen. Kingibe was supported by Sen. Tony Nwoye representing Anambra-North.
Sen. Nwoye said “the Senate had to rise up against the ugly incident, hydra-headed monster and cancer of child trafficking and abduction”.
He averred that it was regrettable and unfortunate that children who are supposed to be the pride of society would become victims of abduction and trafficking particularly from the so-called “baby factories where they are sold off to individuals.
“I feel that the Senate should rise up and I feel that this motion is very timeous and I believe that the Department of State Services and the Nigerian Police should rise to the occasion”, Nwoye said.
