The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), Kano State chapter, has disclosed that the agency has received six rescued street children in the state.
Mr. Abdullahi Babale, the Kano Zonal Commander of the agency, made this known on Thursday while addressing journalists in Kano.
He revealed that the children, aged between 7 and 9, are all males, adding that “four are from Katsina, one from Azare in Bauchi State, and one from Niger Republic.”
Babale further disclosed that the agency also reunited four rescued victims of child trafficking with their families.
He stated that a Good Samaritan, Hon. Kabir Abdulhamid, rescued the children along Zoo Road in Kano metropolis and handed them over to the agency on Sept. 24, 2024.
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Preliminary investigations revealed that the children had been living on the streets for more than a year, fending for themselves as they had no relatives in Kano.
Babale also noted that the agency provided new clothes, bags, shoes, food, and shelter to the children before transporting them to Katsina and Bauchi to reunite them with their families.
Additionally, Babale mentioned that the agency received four rescued victims of child trafficking and arrested one suspect in connection with the crime.
According to him, operatives of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) rescued the victims, aged between 10 and 13.
“The suspect brought the victims to Kano from Zaria with the intention to sell them,” Babale said, adding that the victims have since been reunited with their families and that the suspect would soon be charged to court upon the completion of investigations.
He reaffirmed NAPTIP’s commitment to preventing all forms of exploitation against children and women, and to liberating vulnerable individuals in communities to ensure a safer and better society.
Babale also advised parents and guardians to monitor their wards closely and urged residents of the state to report suspicious cases of human trafficking to the agency.
He appealed to the public, stating, “The fight against human trafficking should not be left to NAPTIP alone. We need support and cooperation so that together we can fight this crime.”
NIGERIAN TRIBUNE