Parents of nine (9) allegedly trafficked children in Bauchi State have called for intervention of the Governor, Senator Bala Mohammed, and his wife, Aisha Bala Mohammed, to help facilitate the rescue their children from captivity.
The parents; Turaki Dansa, Chawa Dangaladima Turaki, Bawa Turaki, Kori Guyina, Shehu Shamaki, Adamu Shamaki and Auwal Musa made the appeal while speaking to newsmen at the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Press centre.
Their Spokesperson, Musa Kwana, who is the traditional ruler of the community averred that unless the governor and his wife intervened in the matter, they may never see their children again.
Names of the trafficked children who were said to have later been abducted are: Sangi Turaki, Cikawa Turaki, Danjuma Turaki, Yangawa Dogo Tolangu, Bebi Bawa, Jumolo Dangaladima, Kangaya Kori, Jummai Adamu, and Alti Shehu, all of Miya village in Ganjuwa LGA of Bauchi State.
While the parents accused one Pastor Joseph Babanzayo and Pastor Musa Wanda, aka Madugu, as suspects in connection with the incident, they alleged that total sum of #470,000 had so far been extorted from them for the purpose of rescuing their children.
The parents lamented that what started as a religious trust turned out to be betrayal and outright act of premeditated crime and inhuman treatment.
” Now that we have tried everything humanly possible for several years since the incident happened in 2014 and could not get a positive result, we want the the governor and his wife to step in and wipe our tears, we want to see our children,” their spokesperson declared
He however stated that 3 of the children have been rescued in Port Harcourt, Rivers State where they were sold by the abductors, adding that they are presently in the custody of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) office there, while the whereabouts of the other 6 children remain unknown.
The parents who also took turns to speak on the incident expressed disgust over the situation as they were not expecting the turn of events which began as a mutual relationship.
They urged the governor and his wife to take decisive action, as they had done in the past, to ensure the safe return of and reunion with their children.
