- The special military task force, code-named Operation Safe Haven (OPSH), has arrested two women for child trafficking
- Colonel Musa Etsu-Ndagi, the commander of sector 1, said the suspects were arrested with a 4-day-old baby girl
- The troops said investigation revealed that they bought the baby girl from one Abuna in Bauchi state for N300,000
The special military task force, code-named Operation Safe Haven, on Tuesday, November 14, arrested two women for allegedly trafficking a 4-day-old baby girl.
According to a report, the suspects, Doris Egbufurum, a 39-year-old and Esther James, a 40-year-old, were said to have been arrested with the baby at Babale Gwam checkpoint, a boundary between Plateau and Bauchi states.
Colonel Musa Etsu-Ndagi, the commander of sector 1, who paraded the suspects, said they were arrested on Monday, November 13, by operatives of OPSH at the checkpoint after the duo boarded a commercial vehicle in Bauchi.
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Etsu-Ndagi said: ''A passenger in the vehicle raised the alarm that she suspected that the baby with the two women was stolen because neither of them appeared to be her mother.
''The troops arrested them and investigation revealed that they bought the baby girl from one Abuna in Bauchi State for N300,000.''
The commander also said the baby was in the military’s custody, adding that she was under the care of medical officers.
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According to him, the OPSH was making efforts to hand over the baby to the National Agency for Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons, an agency of the Federal Ministry of Justice.
According to him, ''NAPTIP does not have an office in Plateau state; their closest office is in Makurdi, Benue state.''
Meanwhile, NAIJ.com had reported that the defence headquarters denied reports in the media that the military stopped the admission of female cadets into the regular combatant officers.
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Source: Naija.ng
ROSY CREST
Wednesday 15 November 2017