Three suspected human traffickers have been arrested and fourteen victims rescued by the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) in Kogi.

According to the agency, the suspects identified as Evelyn Jerry, 27, Stephen Rebecca, 30, and Richard Patrick, 38, were intercepted by soldiers along Lokoja-Abuja Road with children between ages three and 13 crammed into an eight-seater bus marked JJN964XB, they rode in, NAPTIP said on Wednesday.

Its Spokesperson, Nneka Aniagoh, said the suspects and victims were first handed over to the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) Lokoja, which handed them over to NAPTIP.

Aniagoh said the victims were taken from Riyom Local Government Area of Plateau State and being moved to be Ekpoma in Edo State as domestic helps.

She said the suspects claimed the victims’ parents gave consent for them to be given out as domestic helps, adding that both the suspects and victims were from the same town.

“They claimed that the parents of the 14 children gave consent to take them and send them to various households for domestic labour.

Its Director-General, Julie Okah-Donli expressed sincere appreciation to the officers of the Nigerian Army and the NIS for their contributory efforts in the interception, rescue and hand-over of the victims and suspects,” said Aniagoh.

Quoting the DG, Aniagoh said the national referral mechanism being put in place by NAPTIP and relevant agencies aimed to achieve synergy in eliminating human trafficking from the country.

“Dame Okah-Donli uses this opportunity to warn the general public that the Trafficking In Persons (Prohibition) Enforcement and Administration Act, 2015, prohibits the employment of children below the age of twelve as domestic workers, and warned that those found culpable will be severely dealt with.

“The NAPTIP DG added that such acts fuel the incidences of child exploitative labour, and the agency will not tolerate such abuse on our children. The suspects will definitely be charged to court upon completion of preliminary investigations,” she said.