By Charles Pemu 
ASABA, DELTA STATE – The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) has successfully rescued eight children from a popular orphanage in Asaba, following a joint operation with the Department of State Services and the Nigeria Police Force. The children are suspected to have been abducted from Kano and neighboring northern states.
According to NAPTIP spokesperson Vincent Adekoye, the raid was the culmination of years of investigations into syndicates that lure and traffic children to the southern parts of the country. These criminal networks, often posing as traders, reportedly target unaccompanied children between the ages of two and ten.
NAPTIP’s Director General, Binta Bello, confirmed that out of over 70 children found at the orphanage—which included newborns—eight were positively identified by their parents’ representatives from Kano. The rescued children have since been reunited with their families.
Bello expressed grave concern over the activities of some orphanages, questioning the sheer number of children housed in such facilities. She stated that the agency would continue to scrutinize care homes and urged state ministries of women’s affairs to increase their oversight, in line with the Trafficking in Persons (Control of Activities of Organisations and Centres) Regulations 2019. The DG also commended the collaborative efforts of the DSS and the police in a successful operation that, she said, underscores NAPTIP’s commitment to combating child trafficking.