Connect with us

Security

Woman Who Sold Over 120 Children Under Prosecution – NAPTIP

Published

1 year ago

on

The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking In Persons (NAPTIP) has disclosed that a woman who has sold over 120 Children has been arrested and is now facing prosecution.

This is coming just as the agency has also disclosed that in it’s 20 years of existence, it has no tracking machine.

The Director-General of NAPTIP, Prof Fatima Waziri-Azi stated this when she appeared before the Senate Committee on Special Duties.

According to Fatima, apart from the prosecution of the woman whose name she couldn’t disclose, said they are also investigating a lot of fake orphanages and those who fake documents to run organizations they are using to traffick children.

“We are currently prosecuting a woman who has sold over 120 children. Young girls are lured into baby making machines where they are camped in houses and they sleep with different men,” Fatima said, adding that Human traffickers have capitalized on the japa syndrome and are now exploiting Nigerians.

“We have 32 offices in the country. We don’t have offices in Kogi, Niger and Bauchi State and we spent a lot from our shelters.

“We feed the victims, cloth them, provide support, trace their families and also help in repatriation,” Fatima said, adding that 20,200 victims have received support.

According to Fatima, there are a lot of rescued victims in Lagos, Katsina, Kano and Abuja with Benue having the highest number of rescued victims.

Fatima said NAPTIP has secured 639 convictions in 20 years adding that in 2021 alone, they received 1,232 human trafficking complaints.

ALSO READ:  NHRC ES expresses concern over State of Human Rights Nigeria

“Every State in Nigeria is faced with trafficking especially Jigawa, Kano, Katsina. Before it was Edo state,” Fatima said, adding that they have always relied on donors to fund their activities, which is inadequate. We are supporting 32 victims in school, additional 21 in university.

“We existed for 20 years, but we don’t have a tracking device. We rely on Interpol, DSS for the machines we use in tracking,” Fatima added.

On the cases of baby factories, Fatima said the issue is so pervasive adding that just this year alone, in collaboration with the Nigerian Army and the Nigerian Navy, they combed a number of baby factories.

“I know we did one in Anambra, we did another one in Rivers State. But they pop up everywhere and they are predominant in mostly the South-South part and South-East part of Nigeria. Currently, we are prosecuting a woman who sold about a hundred and forty-something children in two years. We also are working with a group of parents whose children were stolen from different communities in Nasarawa State.

“Some of these children we are still working on recovering them. In fact, there’s a young boy, he’s called Daniel. Daniel should be three years old now. He was rescued, I think, probably at the end of 2021 or the beginning of 2022, I don’t remember. And when he was rescued, two families came up and said, this little child was their child, and we were forced to conduct a DNA test, and none of it matched at our shelter.

“These are the kind of cases that we see every day. We are currently investigating a lot of fake orphanages, a lot of people who go and forge documents and deceive people who really want to adopt children. So this is a situation that we are aware of and this is a situation that we know as an agency we can tackle on our own, which is why we are working with the Nigerian Armed Forces, DSS, and the police. We are collaborating with everyone because even though under the Trafficking in Persons Act, it does not categorically provide for baby factories, but we have a crime against buying and selling of children. And of course, baby factories fit in nicely into that and sometimes people just think that people leave their children on the streets and probably maybe they get stolen or young girls decide to be baby-making machines.

ALSO READ:  CAS charges 1,190 new Air Force recruits to uphold, protect Nigeria’s sovereignty

“We have a situation where young girls are lured under the guise of being offered a job. When you go there, they of course take your phones, they lock you up in a room and consistently different men come every day to rape you until you get pregnant. And once you give birth, they take that child. Just very recently, a few months ago, we got information of a Nigerian woman who was living in Jabi Park. She was living in a box and this is a woman who was completely out of her mind. Even though sometimes the brief interaction that we had with her, she has lucid intervals but largely most times in the day, you know, she’s completely out of her mind.

“At the time she was rescued, she was six months pregnant and that was her third pregnancy. So what happens is at night different men come
they sleep with her, she gets pregnant, and once she gives birth, they take the child away. So we’re able to locate her family in Cross River or Akwa Ibom and she was reunited with her family. For years, her family didn’t even know where she was. So these are the kind of things that we see,” Fatima added.

Related Topics:
Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Security

How NDLEA arrested wanted drug baron 17 years after – Marwa

Published

6 hours ago

on

March 3, 2025

By

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a wanted 59-year-old alleged drug baron, in his hideout in Ojo area of Lagos for over N1.4billion worth of seized illicit drugs.

The NDLEA Chairman, retired Brig.-Gen. Buba Marwa said this during a press briefing on Monday in Abuja.

Marwa said that the suspected drug dealer ‘s arrest came after 17 years of hiding to ship illicit drugs worth billions of naira across the world.

The NDLEA boss detailed how operatives of the agency’s ‘Special Operations Unit’ had been on the trail of the suspect.

This, he said, followed an Interpol red notice against him and information from the National Intelligence Service of South Korea.

According to Marwa, the major development that warranted this special briefing pertains to the arrest of a drug lord who’s wanted across the world as the leader of an international drug trafficking organisation.

”I am therefore pleased to announce this significant breakthrough in our efforts to dismantle drug trafficking syndicates operating within the country.

“As we said four years ago when we began the reform of the NDLEA, our prime targets are drug barons and other important figures that organise drug trafficking rings.

“On Feb.12, we achieved that objective in the successful arrest of the suspect in his hideout in Lagos.

“He has been under NDLEA investigation before his arrest.

“As a result, we have comprehensive intelligence on his activities, and incontrovertible facts that he is a notorious drug lord who recruited young Nigerians as couriers to smuggle illicit substances into the Republic of Korea (South Korea).

ALSO READ:  Eschew Bitterness, Embrace Dialogue with Government – Prof Kailani Tells Youths

“Our records reveal that many Nigerians apprehended outside the country for drug-related offences were linked to him.

“Furthermore, we have established that he laundered drug proceeds through the importation of electronics and other goods.

“Following his arrest, a search of his residence led to the recovery of multiple Nigerian international passports belonging to different individuals, many of which contained Korean visas.

” Additionally, we recovered some illicit substances in a storehouse at the back of his house,”he said.

While unmasking the suspect’s leadership role in the drug underworld, the NDLEA boss said: “the suspect is not a typical domestic drug baron; he is an international trafficker operating both from Nigeria and abroad”.

Marwa said that his dossier indicated that he served a one-year prison sentence in the Republic of Korea in 2007 and was deported to Nigeria in 2008.

He, however, added that in spite of this, the suspect continued his illicit trade, remaining actively involved in drug trafficking operations to the Far East.

“Presently, he is wanted in the Republic of Korea for multiple drug trafficking offences in collaboration with his accomplices.

“An INTERPOL Red Notice was issued for his arrest and extradition to the country for offences committed between 2023 and 2024.

“From a series of interdictions, it has been established that the suspect is the ringleader of a drug trafficking organisation responsible for smuggling narcotics into the People’s Republic of Korea.

“He has been orchestrating operations remotely by giving instructions to drug mules and domestic suppliers who are members of his syndicate.

“They are spread across Cameroon, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Liberia and other East and Southern African countries,”he said.

ALSO READ:  Ohanaeze Youths Hail Ndigbo for Not Participating in Ongoing Hunger Protests

The NDLEA boss further gave insights into what investigations had unearthed about Ogbonnaya’s illicit trade activities.

According to him, On Oct. 5, 2023, at a location in Burkina Faso, the suspect dispatched 6,051.06g of skunk, concealed in dried chillies and jujube, to a Korean, Kim Dong-Wook at a designated address in Jinju City, Gyeongsangnam-do, South Korea.

” The package arrived at Incheon Airport on Oct. 19, 2023 at 07:20 am via Air France.

“Investigation reveals that while residing in Nigeria, he directed his drug couriers, to smuggle a total of 5kg of methamphetamine into South Korea via overseas flights, between December 2023 and April 2024.

“In recent time alone, he has sent illicit drugs worth over N1.4billion in street value to South Korea.

“He maintains another domestic courier, who delivers for him drug consignments to a warehouse operated by another suspect, a Nigerian who is his supply manager in South Korea.

“As of now, two arrest warrants have been issued against the suspect by the Seoul Central District Court in January and June 2024.

“These warrants charge him with importing narcotic drugs in violation of Article 3-7 of South Korea’s Narcotics Control Act, an offence punishable by a maximum sentence of life imprisonment,” he maintained.

The NDLEA chairman assured Nigerians of the agency’s commitment to ensuring that Nigeria does not serve as a base for international drug trafficking operations.

“We will continue our relentless fight against illicit drug networks and their financiers, in line with our mandate to safeguard public health and national security.

“The arrest of this suspect is therefore an affirmation of our resolve to work with our international partners.

ALSO READ:  Nigeria Will Turn Around When People Of Character Get Into Power – Utomi

“This is to ensure no drug baron finds Nigeria a comfort zone to distribute illicit substances within the country or traffic them to other countries,”he said.(NAN)

Continue Reading

Security

Security Agencies Must Act On Osun LG Poll Violence – GIT

Published

5 days ago

on

February 26, 2025

By

The Global Information Team (GIT) has called on Nigeria’s security agencies to take swift action following the killing of several individuals during the recently concluded local government elections in Osun State.

Anabel Crown, GIT’s Head of Investigation and an election observer, criticised the Inspector General of Police for failing to respond to the violence that erupted in Ilesa East and West local government areas.

According to Crown, gunmen suspected to be affiliated with the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) targeted voters and supporters of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) on election day.

She described the killings as unacceptable and urged the National Security Adviser (NSA) and the Inspector General of Police (IGP) to take immediate action.

“Some APC top figures are using their influence to sponsor violence,” she alleged, calling for the immediate arrest of those responsible.

GIT has also urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to intervene as a democrat by directing security agencies to ensure justice is served.

Crown insisted that “politics must not be a do-or-die affair” and that those behind the attacks should be brought to justice.

Reports of election-related violence have continued to raise concerns about political tensions in Osun State, with opposition parties alleging intimidation and attacks on their members.

The APC is yet to respond to the allegations.

ALSO READ:  I Ran for governor with less than N100,000—Shekarau
Continue Reading

Security

4 Bandits Killed In Katsina

Published

7 days ago

on

February 25, 2025

By

The Katsina State Command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has successfully repelled multiple attacks by suspected armed bandits, killing four criminals in separate operations at the Federal University Dutsin-mama (FUDMA) and the Federal Government Special Grains Reserve (Silo) in Darawa, Dutsin-ma local government council of the state
According to the command spokesman, Hamisu Buhari, the incident happened on Friday, February 21; NSCDC operatives stationed at FUDMA’s permanent site engaged armed bandits who attempted to infiltrate the institution around 2:00 a.m.

The security team neutralised three of the assailants, including a notorious bandit identified as Ayuba Buzaru. During the operation, they also rescued three kidnapped victims: JafaruAlh. Bawa, 52 years, Delu Alh. Amadu, 40 years, and Huzaifa (alias Zulai) Alh. Bawa, 37 years.

Additionally, livestock stolen by the criminals, including goats, were recovered.

In a separate attack on Sunday, February 23, bandits attempted to raid the Federal Government Special Grains Reserve in Darawa.

The NSCDC Agro Ranger operatives, working alongside the Nigeria Police Force, Dutsinma Division, engaged the attackers in a fierce gun duel. One bandit was killed, while others fled with gunshot wounds.

The body of the deceased has been deposited at the General Hospital, Dutsinma.

The Silo, which serves as a vital storage facility for grain distribution to Katsina, Zamfara, and Sokoto states, has been a recurring target for criminals.

However, security forces remain committed to its protection, following directives from the NSCDC Commandant General, A.A. Audi, and the National Security Adviser’s office.

Additionally, NSCDC personnel, in collaboration with other security agencies, dispersed another group of suspected bandits at Gago Village, near Isah Kaita College of Education, in Dutsinma LGA.

ALSO READ:  CAS charges 1,190 new Air Force recruits to uphold, protect Nigeria’s sovereignty

Commandant Aminu Datti Ahmad praised the gallant efforts of his officers and assured the public of the Corps’ dedication to safeguarding lives and critical national assets.

He urged residents to report any individuals with gunshot wounds to the nearest security office.

The NSCDC Katsina Command remains steadfast in ensuring peace and security across the State.

Continue Reading