The Department of State Services (DSS), in collaboration with the Kano Hisbah Board, has successfully uncovered and dismantled a significant child trafficking syndicate operating within Kano State.
This joint operation has led to the arrest of key members involved in the abduction and illegal sale of children.
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The breakthrough came when officers of the Kano Hisbah apprehended a 17-year-old girl and rescued a 4-year-old child named Aisha, who had been abducted from Nguru in Yobe State. The teenager’s arrest, followed by her handover to the DSS, paved the way for further investigations that ultimately led to the capture of her sponsor.
In a statement from the DSS office in Kano, it was revealed that Hisbah officials had handed over Aisha to the DSS after arresting the teenager holding her captive. “We arrested the real kingpin in the abduction of children from around neighboring states to Kano and sold them in the southern part, where it becomes difficult to trace them,” the DSS stated.
During interrogation, the teenage girl confessed that she was introduced to the child trafficking scheme by a man who sold groundnuts near her home. She disclosed that it was this man who convinced her to abduct Aisha, assuring her that she would not face any consequences. The investigation revealed that Aisha’s kidnapping was the third such incident orchestrated by this man from Nguru.
The kingpin, upon his arrest, admitted to his role in the syndicate. “I normally collect the abducted children and pay off the abductors in Kano before I move on with my partners,” he confessed. He also acknowledged being part of a larger cartel that operates across multiple states, stealing children and trafficking them to different regions, particularly the southern part of Nigeria.
