The Nigerian Immigration Service, Oyo State Command yesterday paraded a pastor, Olufemi Timothy, and four others
accused of child trafficking in Ibadan. The command also
paraded 12 boys and four girls allegedly being used by the
accused persons in a slavery ring.
The Controller of the command, Innocent Akatu, said the
accused persons were apprehended in various locations in
Ibadan, adding that they would be handed over to the
National Agency for the Prohibition of Traffic in Persons for
legal actions.
We learnt that, when the culprits and their victims were handed over to NAPTIP officials
from Lagos, observed that the children were not well fed and
clothed. One of the children, who identified herself as Glory,
said that she had been in Nigeria for three years without being
paid. She could not recognise places where she had worked or
whom she had worked for. She also said her mother was told
by someone that she was coming to Nigeria to work and earn
good money.
Akatu said, “Human trafficking is a serious crime that we are
trying to end. We have very young children being taken away
from their parents under the pretext that the traffickers would
get jobs for them or give them a better standard of living.
Many of them are brought into Nigeria from Benin Republic,
Togo and other neighbouring countries. They are sold into
slavery by those who brought them into the country.”
He made reference to a boy of nine years old, who was
brought to Ibadan from Benue by his brother and sold into
slavery, saying, “He does not know where he is. These
children do not receive the wages paid for them. The money
goes to the people who brought them. So it’s pure slavery. In
the past, when we arrested children like these, we reconciled
them with their parents. Even the foreigners would be taken to
their countries. But we now felt that the method did not help
to check the problem. That is why we are handing them over
to NAPTIP for appropriate legal action,” Akatu said.
While explaining how Timothy and 12 of the victims were
arrested in Iwo Road area of Ibadan, the controller said the
pastor was arrested with another man who brought the
children from Benin Republic.
In an attempt to exonerate himself, Timothy said he had only
come from his farm to help a labourer when he was
apprehended.
He said, “I am a pastor and a farmer. There is a labourer in
my farm who called me from Ibadan. He said he was stranded
in the city. I ran down quickly to help him out at Iwo Road.
He had 12 children with him from Benin Republic but I never
knew he had such people in his company.
He was travelling to Ikire with them but my farm is in Ajoda
Farm Settlement. I cannot deny knowing him but all I was
trying to do was to help him, not knowing that he was
trafficking children to Nigeria. I have foreigners in my farm but
I don’t know how they entered into Nigeria. They were already
here before I employed them.”
