The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has rescued 15 minors who were allegedly trafficked and sold for N2 million each by a suspected impostor posing as an official of a child rights organisation.
The NSCDC said the suspect allegedly presented himself as a representative of the National Council of Child Rights Advocate and used a purported education and orphanage programme to persuade parents to hand over their children.
The Corps’ Public Relations Officer, Babawale Afolabi, disclosed this while briefing journalists at its headquarters in Abuja.
Afolabi said the rescue was carried out as part of an operation targeting criminal networks involved in child trafficking and vandalism.
He said stolen rifles and vandalised telecommunications equipment were also recovered during the operation.
According to him, the suspect operated under the guise of an NGO and orphanage initiative known as the Back to School Project, through which he allegedly targeted vulnerable families with promises of free education for their children.
“Under the guise of operating an NGO and orphanage programme called the Back to School Project, he lured willing, less privileged parents into releasing their children with promises of free education,” Afolabi said.
He said the operation was conducted by the Commandant General’s Special Intelligence Squad (CG’s SIS), led by Commander Dandaura Appollos.
Afolabi said the 16 children were allegedly taken from the Kama Madaki and Gudindi Mada communities in Kokona Local Government Area of Nasarawa State and sold to different buyers.
He said operatives were able to trace the buyers through intelligence gathering and coordinated operations across several states.
“Through advanced field tracking, technical intelligence and multi-state tactical sweeps, operatives of the CG’s SIS tracked down the buyers who were from different locations in the country,” he said.
According to the NSCDC spokesman, three of the children were rescued in Anambra, Imo and Enugu states, while the remaining 12 were recovered during a coordinated operation along eastern transit routes.
He said 15 of the 16 trafficked children had so far been rescued from their alleged buyers.
The Corps also disclosed that three suspected buyers, comprising one man and two women, had been arrested in connection with the case.
Afolabi said investigations were ongoing to identify other members of the alleged trafficking network and establish the full circumstances surrounding the movement and sale of the children.
