The military has apprehended a child trafficker, Joy Duru, resident of Ideato South Local Government Area, Imo State.
The Brigade Commander of the 34 Artillery Brigade, Obinze, Brigadier-General Sani Suleiman, disclosed that the arrested child trafficker steals children in Imo State and transport them to Rivers State for sale to her accomplices at huge amounts. The commander said that suspects were arrested after months of intelligence.
The Commander said the child trafficker operates her illegal business under the pretense of operating an orphanage home, revealing that the troop rescued a 23-year-old woman carrying nine months pregnancy.
The military also found forms from pregnant teenage girls, who wishes to sell their babies after delivery.
The Brigade Commander said the military is tracing a suspected buyer of a two-week-old baby in Rivers State, adding that the army has handed over the suspects and some recovered children to the National Agency For the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP).
Brigadier-General Sani Suleiman was cited to have highlighted: “We saw forms that indicated that she receives children from teenagers who have unwanted pregnancies or those who didn’t know what to do or are in need of money and bring in young men to impregnate them. She nurses them until they are put to bed, she takes the children.
“One of them is here with us. This girl is about 23 years old and is nine months pregnant and will deliver any moment from now. We got this girl from her and she has kept her waiting for her to deliver.
“We also discovered a two-week-old child. She is claiming that a woman brought her and we have made efforts to know who the mother is. She also confirmed to us that she has sold a two-year-old baby to the Amadi family. We are on the trail of the family and they abandoned their homes when our troops went there so that we can complete the (investigation).”
Source: Channels TV