Pastor, four others arrested for child trafficking

The Nigeria Immigration Service in Oyo State says it
has arrested a pastor and four others for alleged
child trafficking in Ibadan.
Controller of the service in Oyo State, Mr. Innocent
Akatu, announced the arrest on Saturday, noting that
the accused persons were arrested in various
locations in Ibadan.
He said the suspects would be handed over to the
National Agency for the Prohibition of Traffic in
Persons for appropriate legal actions.
The service also paraded 12 boys and four girls for
allegedly being used by the accused persons in child
trafficking.
"We have young children being taken away from their
parents under the pretext that the traffickers would
get jobs for them or give them better standard of
living," he said.
The controller said many of them were brought into
Nigeria from Republic of Benin, Togo and other
neighbouring countries.
"They were sold into slavery by those who brought
them into the country but the Federal Government
will continue to fight human trafficking," he said.
The controller said some of those arrested claimed
that they were from Republic of Benin and Benue in
Nigeria.
He made particular reference to a nine-year-old boy
who claimed to have been brought from Benue to
Ibadan by his brother and sold into slavery.
"These children do not receive the wages paid on
them, the money goes to the people who brought
them and so, it is pure slavery.
"Before, when we arrested children like these, we
reconciled them with their parents; even the
foreigners would be taken to their countries.
"But we now felt that the method did not help in
checking the problem, that is why we are handing
them over to NAPTIP for appropriate legal actions,"
Akatu said.