Lagos state government rescues 25 children from alleged trafficker

The Lagos State Government has
rescued 25 children from an alleged
child trafficker in the Egbeda area of the
state, according to a story by Punch
The suspected trafficker, Mrs. Rosemary
Nwachukwu (pictured right), was also
arrested and has been handed over to
the Alausa Police Division, while the
children are currently in government’s
custody.
The government accused
Nwachukwu of operating an illegal
orphanage named, Saint Stephen
Charity Foundation, on Abiodun
Adebanbo Street, Egbeda.
It was gathered that officials from
the Office of Youth and Social
Department, led by the Director,
Child Development, Mrs. Alaba
Fadairo, in conjunction with
personnel from the Office of
Public Defender and policemen,
stormed the orphanage on
Saturday.
The government said findings showed
that the suspect was using the
orphanage as a front for another illegal
business.
The Director, OPD, Mrs. Omotola
Rotimi, said of the children, whose ages
ranged from three months to 12 years,
were victims of human trafficking.
Rotimi said, “It was discovered upon
investigation that Nwachukwu trafficked
27 children and kept them in a room.
We were able to rescue three infants of
ages three to six months and 22 other
children. Efforts are still on to locate the
remaining two.”
The OPD director added that the
suspect used the victims for financial
gains by putting them up for adoption.
She said the suspect would be charged
to court after investigations had been
concluded.
However, Fadairo, said, “Investigation
also shows that there are no records of
each child and no evidence of how the
children got to her orphanage. No
police or security report.”