Detectives from the Lagos State Police Command have successfully rescued six children that were reportedly trafficked from Kwara State to Lagos for exploitative labour.
The rescue brings the total number of rescued children to 18 since the police commenced their investigation into the activities of a child trafficking syndicate.
The children, aged between 8 and 14, were found and rescued in the Ijora Badia area of Lagos.
Earlier, a suspect named Alimot Haruna, who is believed to be a member of the trafficking syndicate was apprehended on January 28, 2024, leading to the rescue of three children in the same area, Ijora Badia.
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Following her arrest, a total of 12 children were rescued, and both the suspect and the rescued children were handed over to the Kwara State Police Command.
During interrogation, the suspect confessed to trafficking around 42 children from Ilorin in Kwara State to Lagos, where they were reportedly employed as domestic workers in various households.
SP Benjamin Hundeyin, the spokesman for the Lagos State Police Command, confirmed the rescue, stating that a source assisted the Ijora Badia Police Division in rescuing the trafficked children.
CSP Ayoola Olawale, the Divisional Police Officer, had contacted CSP Alice Leramo, head of the anti-human trafficking unit of the Kwara Police Command, he said.
Hundeyin said the Kwara State Police Command had been contacted and pledged to send their investigating team to Lagos to take over the rescued children, complete the investigation, and reunite them with their families.