NAPTIP EXPRESSES CONCERN AS NSCDC RESCUES FIVE PREGNANT TEENAGERS IN IMO
REPORTER: UGONNA AGU
The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) has decried the incessant cases of human trafficking in Imo State, especially the baby factory syndrome.
The Commander of the Agency in the state, Mr. Ernest Ogbu, expressed his displeasure while speaking with Radio Nigeria on five teenage girls arrested by the officers of the National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in the state.
The NDLEA had in its weekly statement noted that its operatives on routine patrol on the Imo State section of the Aba-Owerri Expressway intercepted five pregnant girls alleged to be victims of Child trafficking.
The girls, who were said to be between the ages of 15 and 17, were intercepted in a mini-bus while relocating to Ikenegbu area of Owerri from a hideout in Naze area of the state.
According to the statement, the girls did not know the men that impregnated them.
The NAPTIP Commander in Imo State, Mr. Ogbu, commended the NDLEA operatives for their assistance and pledged that the command would also work hand in glove with the police force in the state to ensure that the culprits were caught and brought to book.
Mr. Ogbu explained that the agency left the rescued girls with the police due to lack of facilities to shelter them.
He said investigation was ongoing to apprehend the culprits and possibly expose their baby factory syndicate.
“Cases of buying and selling of human beings is rampant. This is a time bomb that would definitely explode.
“Across the local government and city centers in Imo, trafficking is taking place. Plethora of cases. Moreso this baby factory. There is hardly two days pass without receiving one case of orphanage trafficking,” Mr. Ogbu lamented.
The NAPTIP boss appealed to the Imo State Government to provide a befitting office and operational vehicles for the command and also build a shelter where the command would keep victims of trafficking while going on with Investigation.
EDITED BY CHUKWUBUIKE MADU
