Child traffickers apprehended in IDP camps, Makurdi

The Benue State Police Command has made a significant breakthrough in tackling child trafficking with the arrest of four suspects involved in running a child trafficking syndicate within Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps and other areas of the state. The suspects have been linked to the recruitment of pregnant girls, who are then exploited to give birth to babies that are sold for over N150,000.

In a recent statement by the Command’s Public Relations Officer, SP Catherine Anene, it was revealed that the operation also led to the successful rescue of a child who had been reported missing by her parents. The child was found in the hideout of the trafficking syndicate.

The gang’s operational base was centered around the IDPs camp in the North Bank area of Makurdi town. The Command managed to dismantle the syndicate through credible intelligence and intensive surveillance.

Among those arrested was the wife of the kingpin, identified as Friday, who is currently on the run.

SP Catherine Anene explained, “Following information about a syndicate of child traffickers operating around the Internally Displaced Persons camp at North Bank and other parts of Makurdi, surveillance was intensified in these areas, leading to the arrest of Member Friday, the kingpin’s wife, and accomplices, Stephen Terungwa, Sughter Akegh, and Atom Gideon. The kingpin, Friday, managed to escape to an unknown destination.”

During interrogation, the suspects confessed to recruiting pregnant girls who were then forced to give birth to babies, which were handed over to Friday, the kingpin, for a lucrative sum of N150,000 per pregnancy delivered.

The Police Command is actively continuing its efforts to locate and apprehend the fleeing kingpin and bring him to justice. The successful operation has disrupted the child trafficking network and sent a strong message against such heinous criminal activities in the state.