About 30 cases of child trafficking has been received by the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in the last eight months in Kaduna State. The NSCDC Public Relations Officer in the state, Orndiir Terzungwe, in a statement, condemned the rising cases of child trafficking.
According to him, the recent reports compiled by the Anti-Human Trafficking Unit, indicated that a total of 30 cases were received by the command this year. Terzungwe, while quoting the State Commandant of the NSCDC, Bababgida Dutsinma, said it had become necessary to control increasing cases of child trafficking for labour exploitation and sexual violence reported to the command.
Reacting to a recent report compiled by the Anti-Human Trafficking Unit, which span from January to August, the statement stressed that “ parents and guardians whose duty it is for the child upbringing, must be up to their responsibilities or the society will lose its norms.”
Besides, the NSCDC Commandant cited few states like Jigawa, Kano, Katsina and Kaduna as being the most vulnerable, based on reports received so far. According to him, 16 female survivors out of the total number from Kaduna, Jigawa, Katsina and Kano have been rescued and reunited with their families.
The command further added that three suspects were handed over to the National Agency for the Prohibition and Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) for further action while other cases were withdrawn due to lack of evidence to prosecute suspects.“More worrisome about the report is the fact that in spite of statutory measures put in place to protect the rights of children and women, some people still appear adamant by indulging in abuse of minors.”