NSCDC Rescues 15 Children Allegedly Trafficked by Fake NGO Official

 

The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has rescued 15 minors allegedly trafficked from Nasarawa State and sold for about N2 million each after a suspected trafficker reportedly posed as an official of a child-rights organisation to gain the confidence of vulnerable parents.

The NSCDC said the suspect allegedly operated under the guise of running an NGO and orphanage programme known as the “Back to School Project”, promising less privileged families that their children would receive free education.

According to the corps, the suspect allegedly collected 16 children from Kama Madaki and Gudindi Mada communities in Kokona Local Government Area of Nasarawa State before transferring them to alleged buyers in different parts of the country.

The NSCDC Public Relations Officer, Babawale Afolabi, disclosed the development during a briefing at the corps’ headquarters in Abuja, saying 15 of the children had so far been rescued from their alleged buyers.

Afolabi said the suspect allegedly presented himself as an official of the National Council of Child Rights Advocates, using the identity to convince parents that their children would be given educational opportunities through the purported programme.

The rescue operation was carried out by the Commandant-General’s Special Intelligence Squad, led by Commander Dandaura Appollos. The corps said its operatives relied on intelligence gathering, field tracking and coordinated operations across several states to locate the children.

Three of the rescued children were reportedly located separately in Anambra, Imo and Enugu states, while 12 others were recovered during a coordinated operation along eastern transit routes, according to the NSCDC.

The corps also said three alleged buyers—one man and two women—had been arrested in connection with the trafficking operation. The NSCDC said investigations were continuing and that suspects found culpable would be prosecuted after the conclusion of the investigation.

The case has again highlighted the vulnerability of poor families to criminals who exploit the desire of parents to secure education and better opportunities for their children. What appeared to some parents to be an offer of free schooling allegedly became a route through which their children were taken away and sold.

The NSCDC urged members of the public to remain vigilant and report suspected cases of child trafficking to security agencies, stressing that the corps maintained a zero-tolerance policy towards human trafficking and other forms of criminality.