By Golok Nanmwa, Jos
Plateau state government has arraigned five persons recently arrested for allegedly trafficking children aged between two to four years old in the state
Our correspondent reports that they were arraigned before Justice Ibrahim Galadima of the National Industrial Court in Jos.
When the case was mentioned yesterday, the accused persons including one Pastor Dayo Bernard, a clergy with the End Time Army Ministry, Bukuru, Jos South local government area of Plateau State, Rita Agboeze, Victoria Ugwu, Patrick Nnamdi, and one other all pleaded not guilty after their charges were read to them.
Their counsel, Isaiah Randa, applied for bail orally, and all accused were granted bail to the tune of N5m, each with sureties who are to reside within the jurisdiction of the court as the case was adjourned to January 30, 2025, for continuation of hearing.
Speaking shortly after the court session, the State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Philemon Daffi who represented the State Government said, “We just arranged five people, one pastor, one prophetess, and others for human trafficking, child trafficking, particularly. They denied the charges, and therefore we have taken a date for hearing.
“We are very prepared for the case. We have proof of evidence, we have witnesses, and we are ready to proceed as the business of the court will permit.””
“We want to handle a menace that is taking over our communities. We are decisive and we will make a clear statement on this. “We will not allow our children to be dehumanized. The slave trade was over a long time ago. We cannot have a modern slave trade in our State”, he said.
The Chairperson of the State Gender and Equal Opportunities Commission, Olivia Dazyam who also spoke, commended the efforts of the stakeholders in tackling the menace of trafficking in the State and mentioned that very soon, the parents or guardians who hand over children for trafficking will also be charged to court.
“The Governor is quite passionate about ensuring that trafficking on the Plateau stops.”
He has empowered our Agency, the Plateau State Gender and Equal Opportunities Commission, to go right down into our communities because we understand that our children are being mass mobilized from our communities and are sent out on trafficking.
“Some are being out rightly sold out, as you shall hear in the evidence in the case that is pending before this court. And you know, we go out there to create awareness that our people should be wise enough because people come under different guises to deceive our people. ”
“We know because of the challenges of insecurity, we have gone through a lot, but that cannot be an excuse for our people to be this vulnerable, releasing their children to anybody.
“This is a clear signal to everyone on the Plateau, and even for people outside Plateau who think that Plateau State is a ground where you can come in and recruit children and recruit persons, the end of the matter have come”, he added.
