The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has rescued 34 children while on patrol along the Okene-Lokoja Expressway in Kogi State.
In Anambra, investigators also recovered 64,000 pump action gun cartridges and a new pump action gun, according to NDLEA spokesman Femi Babafemi, who verified this in a statement on Friday.
He claimed that minors from eight to fourteen were being trafficked from Ijebu-Ode, Ogun, to the Federal Capital Territory.
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“The 34 children were rescued from a human trafficking syndicate in the early hours of Thursday, December 16th from two commercial buses – a Toyota Sienna and a 12-seater Mazda with registration numbers Lagos LND124FV and Oyo BDJ-683YK respectively,” Babafemi added in the statement.
“The bus drivers stated that the children were handed over to them by a woman in Ijebu-Ode to be transported to Abuja, adding that the woman is to phone another bus driver who will transport the children to Riyom in Plateau State once they get in the FCT.”
According to him, the children were first trafficked from Plateau to Ijebu Ode, where they were distributed as domestic employees to various families.
“It was established that some of the youngsters had served for two years, and their rewards were forwarded to the woman’s agent in Jos,” the NDLEA spokesman disclosed.
The rifle and ammo were confiscated from a business in Success Line at the Marine contemporary market in Onitsha, in the state’s Awka North Local Government Area, according to him.
“The finding that led to the arrest of Donatus Onyemachi Igwebudu, a 34-year-old arms dealer, followed reliable intelligence on drug and arms deals in the area,” Babafemi stated.
“NDLEA operatives attacked the warehouse on Wednesday, December 15th, 2021, backed by military forces, and took the arms and ammunition to the agency’s office in Awka.”
Brigadier-General Buba Marwa, Chairman and Chief Executive of the NDLEA, praised the operatives for their vigilance and willingness to collaborate with other security agencies in their areas of duty.
He ordered the handing over of the weapon and ammunition, as well as the suspect rescued in Anambra, to the police.
Marwa also ordered the 34 trafficked children to be transferred to the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) for further action.
Source: Channels TV.
