MONDAY March 17, 2025 |TheNewsDESK
The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) says it has rescued two under aged indigenes of Akwa Ibom State, allegedly trafficked to Taraba for forced labour, Nigerian TRIBUNE reports.
Uyo Zonal Commander of NAPTIP, Mr Emmanuel Awhen, disclosed this on Monday, during an interview with some journalists in Uyo.
According to Awhen, the agency received a complaint on the missing two young boys, Abasifreke Okon and Precious Ene, all staying with their parents in Uyo metropolis.
The report has it that; Ene was accused of luring Okon out. So, Ene’s mother was reported to the palace of the Paramount Ruler of Uyo, who handed over the woman, Mrs Grace Ene to the agency for investigation.
Investigation by the agency reveals that, one Mr Christian Gombe had come into Uyo and lured them to Taraba to work for him without the consent of their parents.
The zonal commande said based on the complaint, the Uyo zonal command had to contact NAPTIP in Taraba and alerted them of the incident.
So, the search for the boys began and Gombe was contacted and having known that the agency was involved, he volunteered to return the boys to Uyo immediately.
“We had a call from the paramount ruler of Uyo telling us about the case. We sent our officers to the palace to get the woman to our office
“The woman was detained and we communicated the incident to our Taraba office.
“In the process, we were able to get the number of the man who trafficked the boys.
“So, we informed our men in Taraba and asked him to take the two boys to our Taraba office. When he heard of NAPTIP, he immediately complied and had to send the boys back to us,” Awhen said.
Narrating their ordeal, Precious Ene said they met Mr Christian Gombe, at BetNaija along Nwaniba, who asked them whether they would like to work, that he would give them job in Taraba State.
So, on Feb. 12 Gombe, came back with a ticket for them to travel to Taraba, where they would work for him.
“We got there on Feb. 13 and he gave us a place to stay. We started selling building materials for him,” Ene said.
He narrated that the man did not give them any money until they were returned back to Uyo to meet their parents on March 14.
The boys expressed appreciation for NAPTIP officials for rescuing them, as they were not sure if their fate in Taraba.
Awhen however appealed to parents and guardians to be mindful of those coming to take their children with the intention for greener pastures, stressing that they might end up in childs labour or prostitution.
The zonal commander urged traffickers to desist from such act, as the state and country were no longer safe for such erroneous crime.
He urged victims of human trafficking, parents and guardians and the general public to reach the agency on the following phone numbers when they need help; 08069539747, 08023574406 and 08035961835.
