Pastor, others arrested for child trafficking

The Nigerian Immigration Service, Oyo State
Command, on Saturday paraded a pastor,
Olufemi Timothy, and four others accused of
child trafficking in Ibadan. The command also
paraded 12 boys and four girls allegedly being
used by the accused persons in a slavery
ring.
The Controller of the command, Innocent
Akatu, said the accused persons were
apprehended in various locations in Ibadan,
adding that they would be handed over to the
National Agency for the Prohibition of Traffic
in Persons for legal actions.
Our correspondent, who was at the command
when the culprits and their victims were
handed over to NAPTIP officials from Lagos,
observed that the children were not well fed
and clothed. One of the children, who
identified herself as Glory, said that she had
been in Nigeria for three years without being
paid. She could not recognise places where
she had worked or whom she had worked for.
She also said her mother was told by
someone that she was coming to Nigeria to
work and earn good money.
Akatu said, "Human trafficking is a serious
crime that we are trying to end. We have very
young children being taken away from their
parents under the pretext that the traffickers
would get jobs for them or give them a better
standard of living. Many of them are brought
into Nigeria from Benin Republic, Togo and
other neighbouring countries. They are sold
into slavery by those who brought them into
the country."
He made reference to a boy of nine years old,
who was brought to Ibadan from Benue by
his brother and sold into slavery, saying, "He
does not know where he is. These children do
not receive the wages paid for them. The
money goes to the people who brought them.
So it's pure slavery. In the past, 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 to
check the problem. That is why we are
handing them over to NAPTIP for appropriate
legal action," Akatu said.
While explaining how Timothy and 12 of the
victims were arrested in Iwo Road area of
Ibadan, the controller said the pastor was
arrested with another man who brought the
children from Benin Republic.
In an attempt to exonerate himself, Timothy
said he had only come from his farm to help
a labourer when he was apprehended.
He said, "I am a pastor and a farmer. There
is a labourer in my farm who called me from
Ibadan. He said he was stranded in the city. I
ran down quickly to help him out at Iwo
Road. He had 12 children with him from Benin
Republic but I never knew he had such people
in his company.
He was travelling to Ikire with them but my
farm is in Ajoda Farm Settlement. I cannot
deny knowing him but all I was trying to do
was to help him, not knowing that he was
trafficking children to Nigeria. I have
foreigners in my farm but I don't know how
they entered into Nigeria. They were already
here before I employed them."

Posted by Unknown on Sunday, 15 February 2015 - Rating: 4.5

Title : Pastor, others arrested for child trafficking
Description : The Nigerian Immigration Service, Oyo State Command, on Saturday paraded a pastor, Olufemi Timothy, and four others accused of child traffic...

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