NAPTIP Arrests Three Over Alleged Attempt to Traffic Employer’s Two-Year-Old Child in Cross River

The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) has arrested three workers accused of attempting to traffic their employer’s two-year-old child in Ogoja, Cross River State.

Oba Joseph, Head of Operations of the NAPTIP Cross River Command, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Calabar on Thursday, August 27.

According to Joseph, the agency received a report on Monday concerning an incident in Ogberia Ochoro community, where the three suspects allegedly took the child and attempted to move him to another location for sale.

The suspects reportedly told investigators that they had worked for their employer for about three months without receiving their wages.

Joseph said the suspects allegedly claimed they decided to traffic the child as an act of revenge and as a means of recovering the money they believed their employer owed them.

However, the employer reportedly denied owing the workers, maintaining that he had paid their wages except for August, which was still ongoing at the time of the incident.

The suspects were reportedly intercepted after a farmer returning from his farm noticed them behaving suspiciously while travelling with the child.

“The farmer questioned them, after which one of the suspects allegedly claimed that the two-year-old child was his own,” Joseph said.

Unsatisfied with the explanation, the farmer raised an alarm, leading to the suspects’ arrest after they had reportedly crossed about four communities.

Joseph said NAPTIP had commenced investigations and would prosecute the suspects after completing its inquiries.

He also disclosed that authorities were investigating discrepancies concerning the suspects’ ages. While community records reportedly listed them as 18, 19 and 27 years old, the suspects told NAPTIP that they were 16, 17 and 25 respectively.

The agency has therefore contacted their parents to help establish their actual ages.

Joseph explained that if the suspects are confirmed to be minors, they could be treated as children in conflict with the law, which could affect how the case is handled by the courts.

He stressed, however, that the alleged attempt to traffic the two-year-old child remained the central issue, regardless of the suspects’ ages, while the ongoing investigation would determine the appropriate legal process.