Child trafficking: Lagos rescues 25 children

by Yejide Gbenga-ogundare-Lagos / tribune.com.ng

A total of 25 children have been rescued from a den of child traffickers purported to be home for orphans and the less privileged by the Lagos State government.

The Office of the Public Defendant (OPD) made this announcement in Lagos through a press statement.

The OPD revealed that the children whose ages range between three months and 12 years were found in the illegal home located at 30/32 Abiodun Adebanbo Street, Egbeda, Lagos and is run by a woman identified as Mrs Rosemary Nwachukwu.

According to the statement, a combined team of the Director of Child Development, Mrs Alaba Fadairo and officers from OPD clamped down on the home in response to the alert by a newspaper of Saturday, August 17, 2013.

The newspaper’s report according to the OPD, drew their attention and that of the public to the illegal activities and the deteriorating condition to which the children were subjected.

The rescued children, who had since been taken to the Lagos State government welfare institution for proper care and protection, are made up of three infants, aged three to six months and 22 other children.

“Upon investigations, it was discovered that, Mrs Nwachukwu trafficked 27 children kept in a room, using them to raise money and defraud innocent members of the public who may need assistance in child adoption. 25 children were rescued and the whereabouts of the remaining two children remains unknown.

“Investigation also showed that there were no records on each of the children and no evidence of how the children got to her and no form of police or security report,” the statement said.

Mrs Nwachukwu confessed that she had been running the home for the past 18 years purely on charity but the residents and the Landlords Association in her community said that they were not aware that such home existed, adding that she must have been bringing the children at night.