NAPTIP rescues three children hired for N3,000 daily from their parents

•Alerts on traffickers’ method in FCT
The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), has rescued three children hired for N3,000 daily from their parents.

Director General, NAPTIP, Professor Fatima Waziri-Azi, disclosed in a press release, that the suspects specialised in collecting babies in connivance with other members of the gang, hire out these innocent children and position them at the roadsides, busy intersections and bus stops, where they beg for alms.

She explained that the agency has commenced a manhunt for members of this criminal syndicate already implicated in this act as three of their victims were rescued.

The Agency also alerted Nigerians and specifically residents of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), to recurring activities of human trafficking gangs.

In the release signed by the Agency’s Press Officer, Vincent Adekoya, NAPTIP said it is strategising on better ways of tackling emerging trends of human trafficking and other associated crimes across the country.

The DG revealed that during a routine undercover operation by operatives of the Rapid Response Unit of the Agency around the Abuja-Nyanya corridors, the operatives intercepted the syndicates and promptly rescued three children, all under the age of one, allegedly rented out by their mothers to the traffickers to beg for alms at one of the busy spots in the Nyanya area for N3, 000 a day, for each child.

“Their modus operandi is that they will detail another older child to watch over the children as they move them from one point to another, and also ensure that the proceeds are collected at intervals.

“These infants are exposed to harsh weather conditions on daily basis in a dusty and dirty environment even in the face of vehicular movement and other forms of abuse without proper feeding.

“This ugly development is one of the highest forms of cruelty as these children whose ages range between seven and nine months, are made to face life-threatening situations on daily basis,”  Waziri-Azi lamented.

She warned that all those involved, including parents who give out their children for unclear purposes, shall be fished out and prosecuted.

The Agency said it has also commenced discussions with relevant Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), to increase vigilance within the identified black spots noted for street begging around the FCT.