Woman in Custody for Suspected Trafficking of 42 Children
The Lagos State Police Command has arrested a 45-year-old woman, Alimot Haruna, for purportedly smuggling 42 northern children into Lagos without parental consent. Allegedly, Alimot planned to subject all 42 children to child labor and trafficking.
The incident reportedly took place on January 25 around 5:45 pm. According to a police source, detectives monitoring her activities successfully rescued three underage children, comprising two females and one male, whose name is yet to be confirmed.
The source further mentioned that the Kwara State Police Command had declared the suspect wanted in relation to multiple cases of missing underage children associated with her operation. The command's anti-human trafficking unit verified that they had successfully recovered some of the children, leaving only 11 still unaccounted for.
"The Kwara State Command has declared the suspect wanted due to her connection with numerous cases of missing underage children, believed to be linked to her syndicate. The anti-human trafficking unit of the Kwara State Police Command was informed and verified the recovery of some of the remaining 11 children."
Additionally, the source mentioned that the suspect had confessed, disclosing both the locations where the children were being held and the identities of their parents.
"She disclosed the locations where the other children were kept, and their current custodians have been contacted and confirmed," the source revealed.
When reached for comment on Sunday, the state Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hudeyin, stated that efforts were underway to rescue the remaining eight children. Updates on their progress will be communicated as developments unfold.
The Kano State Police Command has apprehended nine suspects allegedly involved in inter-state trafficking, abduction, and the illicit buying and selling of minors. State Police Commissioner Usaini Gumel explained that the arrests followed extensive intelligence-led operations, leading to the identification and dismantling of long-standing inter-state trafficking syndicates operating in Kano, Bauchi, Gombe, Lagos, Delta, Anambra, and Imo states.
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