At least 14 children who were earlier abducted and trafficked from Adamawa State to Anambra, have been reunited with their parents.
The reunion was marked by a mix of relief, joy, and grief, as families embraced their children after the harrowing ordeal.
First Daily correspondent learnt that some of the trafficked children were sold for N800,000 while others were sold for N1.7 million per child.
At the reunion on Wednesday, Adamawa Deputy Governor, Prof. Kaletapwa George Farauta, warned that the state had been placed on the map of an unfortunate monster ravaging the nation child trafficking.
“These children were converted into commodities of trade. Some were sold between N800,000 and N1.7 million each.
“This monstrous crime isn’t only traumatic to the victims and their parents but a sad and strange reality to our state,” Farauta said.
She disclosed that security operatives arrested the alleged kingpin, Ngozi Abdulwahab, who ran a small provision shop in Jambutu Ward, Yola-North. She reportedly lured unsuspecting children with snacks before trafficking them to the Southeast for resale.
“I thought my daughter was dead. For two months, I didn’t sleep,” said Husseini Shehu, father of nine-year-old Fatima, who was snatched while playing outside their home in Mubi-North.
“When I saw her today, I cried like a child myself. No parent should ever go through this pain.”
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Aisha Isa, mother of five-year-old Muhammad Buba, could barely speak as she clutched her son.
“They stole my only child. I begged God every day to return him. Today, I know God is alive,” she whispered.
Others expressed shock that neighbours had lived side by side with the alleged trafficker without suspecting her.
“She pretended to be a harmless trader. Who knew she was selling our children like goats in the market?” said Mohammed Abubakar, father of Umar Farouk, nicknamed “Lagos Boy.”
Farauta said the suspects would be prosecuted under the Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Enforcement and Administration Act, 2015, the Adamawa State Child Protection Law, 2008, and the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Law, 2021.
“The message of His Excellency, Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri, is clear: Adamawa is the wrong place to come to. We shall flush them out, dismantle their networks, and prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law. This isn’t an empty charge. It is a promise,” she declared.
The government provided each family with N100,000 and food items to cushion the reunion, promising follow-up monitoring by the Ministry of Women Affairs and local government welfare units.