From Scholastica Onyeka, Makurdi
The Benue State Police Command has nabbed a suspected human trafficker In Makurdi, the Benue state capital.
Our correspondent gathered that the suspect, identified simply as Doosuur, was apprehended in North Bank area of Makurdi on Tuesday, 2nd May 2023.
A source who didn’t want to be named said the suspected child trafficker was caught by youths in the North Bank area who handed her over to the men of the Nigeria Police, the Operation Zenda unit, for further investigation.
According to the source, the suspect has been into this business since 2018. “She is reported to have been on the run all these years but luck ran out of her yesterday when she was apprehended her in north bank by the youths.
“She confessed to have been in the business of children trafficking since 2018 and have, so far, taken four children to Lagos and sold them to a Lagos based trafficker for a sum of N700,000 each, the source said”
When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer, (PPRO), SP Catherine Anene, confirmed the incident saying the suspect is with the police.
Meanwhile, the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons, (NAPTIP), has confirmed the incident saying the suspect is a serial offender.
The NAPTIP Commander, Makurdi Zonal Command, Gloria Bai, said the suspect, whom she identified as Grace, has been in the business of kidnapping and selling children with her cohorts adding that the command is currently prosecuting her case in court.
“This is not her first time like she claimed. We still have a case with her in court on a similar case. I came to Benue in the year 2020 and I arrested that woman myself. We have been with her in court since 2021 and the court has not ruled yet.”
She urged the Benue public to always report to such cases to NAPTIP for appropriate and prompt action.