The Kaduna State Police Command has intercepted a suspected child-trafficking operation and rescued 17 children believed to have been mobilised for onward movement to Abuja and other destinations.
The command’s spokesperson, DSP Mansir Hassan, disclosed this in a statement on Thursday, noting that operatives acted on credible intelligence and arrested three suspects under the Dan Magaji bridge in Wusasa around 4pm on Wednesday.
According to Hassan, officers from the Dan Magaji Division stormed the area and found the children in the custody of the suspects, who had allegedly brought them from different states with plans to transport them to the Federal Capital Territory.
The suspects were identified as 21-year-old Musa Shu’aibu of Funtua, Katsina State; 23-year-old Sani Mamman of Ingawa, Katsina State; and 20-year-old Mubarak Isma’il of Unguwa Uku, Kano State.
Hassan said the men confessed to assembling the children from various communities for the ill-fated journey before security operatives intercepted them.
The police confirmed that all 17 children are healthy and in protective custody as efforts intensify to trace and reunite them with their families.
Kaduna State Commissioner of Police, CP Rabiu Muhammad, lauded the operatives for their prompt action and reaffirmed the command’s zero-tolerance stance toward child trafficking and exploitation.