The Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) has intercepted 21 minors suspected to be victims of human trafficking at Geidam town, near the Nigeria-Niger Republic border in Yobe State.
While handing over the children to the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), the Comptroller of NIS in the state, Sani Sule-Jega, revealed that the minors, aged between seven and 15 years, were being transported from Magama Local Government Area in Niger State to the Niger Republic for studies without any travel documents.
“These are minors between the ages of seven to fifteen who were intercepted at Geidam border Out-Post in Geidam Local Government Area of Yobe State. The purpose of that out-post is to checkmate all illegal entry because our core mandate is border security and migration management,” Sule-Jega stated.
The prime suspect, Abubakar Sadiq, who was acting as their guardian, claimed that he was taking the children to Niger Republic for studies, as requested by their parents.
“It was their parents that asked me to look for a school that is cheap, that is why I am taking them to a school in Maine, Niger Republic,” Sadiq told Channels Television.
The guardian, the driver, and the minors have been handed over to NAPTIP for further investigations.
