NAPTIP rescues 96 trafficked Benue children, reunites 84 with families

The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) has announced the rescue of 96 trafficked children in Benue State, with 84 of them successfully reunited with their families.

The disclosure was made on Wednesday by Mrs. Hembadoom Kuma, the newly deployed Zonal Commander of NAPTIP’s Makurdi Zonal Command, during an interaction with journalists in Makurdi

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalled that NAPTIP had said over 300 children were trafficked out of the state in 2025.

Kuma said that upon assumption of office, she was confronted with an ongoing challenge of child trafficking in Benue, particularly the trafficking of more than 300 children from Guma LGA of the state in 2025.

She said the Makurdi Zonal Command, before her arrival, swung into action after receiving intelligence on the incident and rescued  87 children.

She disclosed that 84 of the rescued children had been reunited with their parents after being recovered from Abia, Imo, Rivers and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.

The zonal commander added that 9 children were recently rescued and brought to the command, while efforts were ongoing to trace and rescue the remaining victims.

“We have rescued 96 children and reunited 84 of them with their parents.

“We are assuring parents that we will continue to work until the remaining children are rescued and handed over to their families,” she said.

Kuma warned traffickers and other perpetrators to desist from the criminal act.

She observed that although human trafficking was a nationwide challenge, Benue remained one of the states heavily affected by the crime, making collaboration essential to addressing the problem.

The commander urged members of the public to remain vigilant and promptly report suspicious movements and activities to security agencies. (NAN)