•Boko Haram Demands N30m Ransom To Release Abducted Fishermen In Borno

THE Plateau State Gender and Equal Opportunities Commission, in collaboration with security agencies, has rescued five children billed to be trafficked to Calabar, Cross Rivers State.

Three of the children were from Utan community in Jos North, while the other two hail from Irigwe chiefdom in Bassa Local Council of the state.

The suspects are Lydia Bulus, Linda Monday and Esther Solomon. They were arrested at Ngo Tallatu Jang Motor Park in Jos.

The commission’s chairperson, Olivia Dazyam, expressed sadness that despite awareness campaigns, people were still engaging in human trafficking.

The commission appealed to local councils, especially those considered hot spots, to cooperate in the fight against human trafficking.

Dazyam praised the wife of the Chairman of Bassa Local Council, Mrs. Miriam Roti, for her prompt response to the situation, urging parents to follow due process when adopting or relocating children, as “Poverty is not an excuse for releasing their child to somebody they don’t know.”

Meanwhile, persons suspected to be Boko Haram terrorists have demanded a N30 million ransom before the seven fishermen abducted from the Lake Chad region of Borno State can be released.

The seven fishermen in captivity were abducted on Thursday during an attack on Kwatan Dadi Kowa fish market at 10:14 a m in Doron Baga community of Kukawa Local Council of the state.

According to sources, the insurgents had earlier converged at a nearby village before they advanced towards the market in several speed boats armed with AK-47 rifles and other weapons.