NAPTIP smashes child trafficking ring in Kano

The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) has busted a notorious child trafficking syndicate, rescuing eight children stolen from Kano and other northern states and trafficked down South.

The victims, aged between two and 10, were shockingly found inside a privately-owned orphanage in Asaba, Delta State, allegedly run by a top official of the Association of Orphanage Operators in Nigeria.

Over 70 children, including 15 newborns, were discovered crammed into the facility. Out of the number, only eight were positively identified as missing children from Kano.

According to NAPTIP, the operation was “purely intelligence-driven,” carried out with the DSS, Police, Kano State Ministry of Women Affairs, and civil society organisations, after years of parents crying out over their missing children.

The Director General of NAPTIP, Dr. Binta Bello, didn’t mince words: “NAPTIP is seriously worried about the activities of these so-called orphanages and care homes. Imagine over 70 children in one orphanage. the big question is, where are these children from?”

She revealed that a petition filed in 2022 by Protection Against the Abduction and Missing of Our Children (PATAMOOC), representing more than 200 distraught parents, helped trigger the sting. Many of the parents had been grieving since as far back as 2017, with some even dying from the trauma of losing their children.

Bello also accused the orphanage operator of dodging accountability: “Instead of honouring our invitation, the owner has been running from pillar to post, spreading falsehood on social media. That will not distract us.”

NAPTIP confirmed that the rescued children have been taken back to Kano and reunited with their families.

The agency vowed to clamp down harder on shady orphanages across the country, warning that the era of trafficking under the guise of care homes is coming to an end.