Child trafficker arrested, 9 children rescued by Army in Enugu state

Men of the Nigerian Army have arrested a suspected woman child-trafficker in the state while rescuing nine children.

The Army identified the 40-year-old child-trafficker as Mrs. Rebecca Nwachi.

Speaking to newsmen, the army’s Deputy Director, Public Relations, 82 Division, Enugu, Col. Aliyu Yusuf, stated that the woman who specialized in moving children from Plateau State in North Central Zone to Rivers State in South-South Zone.

According to Col. Aliyu Yusuf’s statement, the arrest was part of the ongoing “Exercise Atilogwu Udo 1’’.He said that nine children, including four girls and five boys, aged between two and 13 years, were recovered from the suspected child-trafficker.

Yusuf said: “At about 6:00 a.m. on January 2, 2020, troops of Sector 5 of Exercise Atilogwu Udo 1 deployed at Orba check-point in Udenu Local Council of Enugu State (within Nsukka general area) intercepted the above-named woman with nine children.

“The trafficker was intercepted in a luxurious bus with registration number ANAMBRA NEN 429 ZD belonging to FG Onyenwe Company. “The woman claimed she was taking the children from an Orphanage Home in Jos, Plateau State, to another orphanage in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

“The woman produced a hand-written document signed by a pastor showing a list of the names of the children as an official document to facilitate the transportation of the children. “However, during the preliminary investigation, a family member of one of the children who was contacted, revealed that the family was not aware of how one of the victims, named Joshua, got to Nsukka.

“This was corroborated by other contacts that were thankful to Sector 5 army troops for intercepting the illegal trafficking. ”He added that the children, who were crying for food and claimed they had not eaten since they were trapped, were fed by his men. He said that the suspected trafficker and the children had been handed over to Enugu State Police Command’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID) for further investigation