Plateau State Taskforce Rescues Two Trafficked Children, Arrests Suspect
The Plateau State Taskforce has successfully intercepted two children being trafficked from Langtang South Local Government Area to Lagos, preventing their exploitation.
During the operation, authorities also apprehended a female suspect linked to the trafficking attempt.
Confirming the development, Plateau State Commissioner for Women Affairs, Mrs. Caroline Panglang Dafur, disclosed that the children were rescued at a Lagos-bound park in Jos.
“Two underage children from Langtang South LGA, belonging to the Tarok ethnic group, were intercepted at a transport park in Jos. They were being sent to Lagos to work for an unidentified individual. The trafficker was tracked and arrested by the Plateau State Joint Taskforce on Trafficking,” she stated.
Dafur further identified the suspect as Mrs. Manwor Ayuba, emphasizing that child labor and exploitation remain serious crimes in the state.
She urged residents to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activities to security agencies, stressing that combating human trafficking requires a collective effort.
Escalating Human Trafficking in Plateau State
The rise in human trafficking cases across Plateau State has raised concerns among stakeholders, including the Christian Women for Excellence and Empowerment in Nigerian Society (CWEENS).
Speaking at a press briefing in Jos, CWEENS National Coordinator, Prof. Oluwafunmilayo Para-Mallam, described the trend as alarming and called for urgent intervention.
She highlighted a recent operation carried out by the Joint Task Force in collaboration with the Force Intelligence Department–Intelligence Response Team (FID-IRT), which exposed a major trafficking network.
“On December 2, 2024, acting on credible intelligence, security operatives apprehended a woman, Nanman Pungtel, at Old Airport Junction, Jos, with three children whose identities she could not verify,” Para-Mallam revealed.
Further investigations led to the arrest of Pastor Dayo Bernard of End Time Army Ministry in Bukuru, who was identified as the mastermind behind the trafficking ring.
The operation resulted in the rescue of five children, aged between two and four, who had been abducted from different homes in Kwande, Qua’an Pan LGA.
Additional suspects, including Rita Agboeze, Victoria Ugwu, and Peter Ukwuani, were also taken into custody.
During questioning, Pastor Bernard confessed to abducting and selling 13 children from Plateau State, with prices ranging from ₦350,000 to ₦750,000 per child.
Providing Support for Rescued Victims
In December alone, CWEENS sheltered and provided psychological care for 17 trafficked children—13 rescued locally and four repatriated from Mali and Ghana. These children have since been reunited with their families through the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development.
Call for Government Action
CWEENS has urged the government to address the root causes of human trafficking, such as poverty and unemployment, by implementing economic empowerment programs for vulnerable families.
“The government must invest in vocational training and financial support initiatives for women and youth to curb the desperation that traffickers exploit,” Para-Mallam stated.
She also emphasized the need for stricter enforcement of anti-trafficking laws, stronger penalties for offenders, and enhanced collaboration between law enforcement agencies, the judiciary, and child protection organizations to ensure swift prosecution of traffickers and adequate rehabilitation of victims.
CWEENS put forward several recommendations, including:
• Establishing community-based child protection watch groups to identify and report suspicious activities.
• Creating toll-free hotlines for reporting trafficking cases.
• Equipping rapid response teams to proactively prevent abductions and facilitate victim rescues.
Para-Mallam concluded by reaffirming the organization’s commitment to safeguarding children’s rights:
*“We must work together to build a society where every child is valued, protected, and given the opportunity to thrive. The fight against child trafficking requires the collective efforts of families, communities, civil society organizations, and the government.
Together, we can dismantle these exploitative networks and ensure that no child falls into the hands of traffickers.”*
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