Date: 2020-09-06

.Two traffickers held in Kwara

Four women have been taken into custody for allegedly selling a newborn for N1,500,000.

Officials of National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) arrested three of the women near Abuja, while the fourth suspect was apprehended in Owerri, the Imo State capital, where the baby's teenage mother hails from.

Two of the women, Bernadette Ihezuo and Cecilia Onyema are civil servants with the Federal Ministry of Finance Abuja, and Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, respectively.

A third suspect, Okasi Ekeoma, is said to be Onyema's sister, while the fourth suspect is the baby's grandmother Harrieth Nmezi.

All of them were paraded on Thursday in Abuja.

Nmezi's 16-year-old daughter got pregnant in Imo and was driven to Onyema's house where she lived till she was delivered of the baby, reporters were told. Upon delivery, the other women completed the buying and selling of the child, it was learnt.

The baby is said to have been rescued, while the suspects have confessed to the crime, it was gathered.

In Kwara, officials of Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Kwara State have arrested a woman and an alleged accomplice in connection with the trafficking of a 15-year-old girl.

The woman simply identified as Madam Hauwa, and Bala Suleiman were said to have brought the teenager from Togo to Nigeria.

Two non-government organisations, Women Environment and Youth Development Initiatives (WOYODEV) and Child Protection Network (CPN-Kwara) brought the case to the attention of the civil defence corps in the state.

They said the victim was taken from Togo to Nigeria to work as a house-help.

Hauwa was alleged to have been bringing in children from neighbouring countries to work in Nigeria, telling them to abscond from their principals and switch to new employers.