LAGOS, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA) – Fatima Waziri-Azi, the Director-General, National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), says the agency rescued three babies who were allegedly rented out by their mothers for alms begging in return for N3,000 daily per child.
NAPTIP’s Rapid Response Unit rescued the babies aged between seven and nine months, after intercepting their traffickers at busy spots around the Nyanya area of Abuja.
According to a statement signed by NAPTIP’s Press Officer, Vincent Adekoye, the DG revealed this in Abuja when speaking with stakeholders about its efforts to combat some new national trends in human trafficking and related crimes.
The statement was titled, ‘NAPTIP alerts on recurring form of trafficking for begging, commits to prosecuting parents found culpable’.
According to Waziri-Azi, during a routine NAPTIP undercover operation in the Abuja and Nyanya corridors, the operatives “intercepted the syndicate and promptly rescued three children, all under the age of one, allegedly been rented out for N3,000 by their mothers to traffickers to beg for alms.
“These suspected trafficking syndicate specialised in collecting babies with the connivance of other members of the gang, hire out these innocent children and position them at the roadsides at busy intersections and bus stops, where they use them for alms begging.
“They will detail another older child to watch over the children as they move them from one point to another and also to ensure that the proceeds of the begging were collected at intervals.
“These infants are exposed to harsh weather conditions on a daily basis in a dusty and dirty environment even in the face of vehicular movement and other forms of abuse without proper feeding,” she explained.
She added that the ugly development was one of the highest forms of wickedness and danger to children.
The DG issued a warning stating that everyone involved, including parents who distributed their children for unknown reasons, would be found and brought to justice.
She indicated that NAPTIP had also commenced discussions with the relevant government Ministries, Departments and Agencies to increase vigilance within the identified black spots noted for street begging around the FCT.