The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has rescued 15 minors allegedly trafficked and sold for N2 million each by a suspected syndicate member who posed as an official of the National Council of Child Rights Advocates.
The NSCDC Public Relations Officer, Babawale Afolabi, disclosed this on Friday at the Corps’ headquarters in Abuja, saying the suspect allegedly deceived parents in Nasarawa State into surrendering their children under the guise of providing them with free education.
Afolabi said the suspect operated a purported NGO and orphanage programme, known as the “Back to School Project”, through which he lured vulnerable parents in Kama Madaki and Gudindi Mada communities in Kokona Local Government Area into releasing their children.
He said 15 of the 16 trafficked children were rescued from their buyers by operatives of the Commandant General’s Special Intelligence Squad, led by Commander Dandaura Appollos.
Three victims were rescued separately in Anambra, Imo and Enugu states, while 12 others were recovered through coordinated operations along eastern transit routes. Three suspected buyers—one man and two women—have also been arrested.
The NSCDC spokesman said the operation involved field tracking, technical intelligence and multi-state tactical sweeps, adding that the Corps would prosecute all suspects found culpable after the completion of its investigation. He reiterated the NSCDC’s zero-tolerance stance on human trafficking and other forms of criminality.
