The Kano State Police Command has arrested nine suspects who specialize in interstate trafficking, abduction, and the buying and selling of minors.
The state Commissioner of Police, Usaini Gumel, disclosed this while parading the suspects at the Bompai command’s headquarters on Thursday.
He explained that the suspects were apprehended after conducting several intelligence-led operations through which the long-time cycle of interstate trafficking syndicates hibernating around Kano, Bauchi, Gombe, Lagos, Delta, Anambra, and Imo states was identified and dismantled.
Seven victims, who are mostly minors, were rescued from the suspects, Gumel said.
“It was through diligent investigations by our dedicated team of officers that the operation of these criminal networks, which have been in existence for more than 10 years, was identified,” he said.
The police commissioner disclosed that some of the rescued children, aged between three and eight, were sold for between N300,000 and N600,000, depending on their ages.
“It was discovered during investigations that a victim, Mohammed Ilya, who was abducted from Bauchi but whose name was changed to Chidebere, was sold recently at Nnewi in Anambra State,” Gumel said.
He said the command would collaborate with the state government to ensure that all the abducted children were safely returned and reunited with their original family members.
The police commissioner assured members of the public that the command under his watch had put in place security measures to end the menace once and for all.
