Two men in Ekiti State have landed in trouble after they were accused of engaging in child trafficking.
Officers of the Nigeria Immigration Service in Ekiti State could hardly curtail their shock recently when they discovered five 18-seater buses loaded with about 90 innocent-looking children and teenagers at Ido-Ile Ekiti.
The buses and their passengers were allegedly brought to Ekiti State from Benue State by suspected child traffickers working in collaboration with some ‘business partners’ in the quiet town.
Many people who spoke with Daily Sun said it was worrisome that the suspected child traffickers were living in a town regarded as holy, with a sacred, globally renowned Prayer Mountain founded by the Christ Apostolic Church’s founder, Apostle Joseph Ayo Babalola situated in the community.
Eyewitnesses said the suspected traffickers were fully armed and would probably have engaged the Immigration officers in a gunfight but for the superior weapons wielded by the latter. As soon as the Immigration men discovered that the suspects were also armed, they started shooting into the air. The suspected traffickers subsequently took to their heels.
In the ensuing confusion, some of the victims were rescued. They included Sanjo Oluwa, 16, Margaret Ogbaji, 17, Cecilia Adepe, 13, Paulina, Peter, 14, Linda Agbo, 17, Augustine Emmanuel, 13, Innocent Alime, 17 and Edua David, 16.
Two men, John Anthony, 22, and 31-year-old Samuel Joel have also been arrested by the Immigration officials for allegedly being receivers of the innocent five girls and three boys.
All the kids were allegedly brought in from the same community, Igede, in Benue State.
Some of the victims could neither speak nor understand English. Augustine Emmanuel, for instance, could only speak and understand his native language.
Linda Agbo, who said she completed her elementary education at Balae Primary School some years back, disclosed that she had earlier been ferried to Lagos during which she learnt sewing.
Having completed the training, she said she later returned to Igede to stay with her parents but without a sewing machine.
She told Daily Sun that one Francis, who she alleged was still in Benue State searching for prospective victims for the criminal trade, told her parents that he was taking her to Lagos where she would get a job good enough to raise money to buy sewing machines to become independent within a short period.
In her words, Francis, who is reported as the kingpin of the trade in Ido-Ile in Ekiti State, had truly made an arrangement with one Michael who was to take her to Lagos where she was to serve as a house help, noting that less than three hours to her take-off time to Lagos, immigration officers arrived and picked up eight of them.
Speaking averagely good English, Linda took up the role of interpreter for 13-year-old Augustine Emmanuel and other children who could neither speak nor understand English.
It was discovered that many parents deliberately act as accomplices to child traffickers in order to get the burden of raising the kids off their backs.
Sunday Joel, in his account, said he was contacted by Francis to help in taking the teenagers in transit to Ido-Ile.
He also claimed ignorance of the trade allegedly spearheaded by Francis, saying the kingpin was just a friend with who he had been farming. He added that he’s based at Ita Ido where he farms and sells his farm produce.
22-year-old John Anthony said he was also forced to Ekiti State against his wish by child traffickers when he was just about 10 years old.
Having overcome that, he has since graduated to being a marketer of slave kids who are usually brought in from Benue State.
Anthony was arrested while he was engaged in a fight with someone over the proceeds from an undisclosed deal.
Sources told Daily Sun that the village is the largest settlement of suspected child-traffickers. It was learnt that the suspected traffickers also own farms where they grow vegetables as a cover-up.
The Immigration men also seized some applications forms from the suspects. Such forms, the reporter learnt, were usually issued to prospective customers by the trafficker.
The reporter learnt that whenever they sight a strange face or exotic car in the community, the suspected child traffickers would walk up to the stranger and sell the idea of ‘buying’ one or more kids to such stranger.
Many are now worried that ritualists could start having their way with the trafficked boys and girls, since their ‘masters’ don’t really care about their fate.
Attempts by our reporter to get the reactions of top Immigration officials were unsuccessful, but a top source at the agency said the victims would soon be handed over to their state government.
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