Lagos commissioner of police leads officers in gallant operation against human traffickers; rescues 6 children, arrests suspects

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- No fewer than 6 children aged between 3 and 10 have been rescued from a suspected human trafficking camp in Ejigbo by the Lagos state Police Command in an operation led by CP Edgar Imohimi

- The owner of the camp who was arrested at the location, claimed that one of the children was hers while 5 others were children of her older sisters

- An officer however countered her claim, stating that the children could not mention their surnames when they were interviewed

- The matter is currently being investigated, on the orders of CP Imohimi

The Lagos state Police Command has rescued no fewer than 6 children, between ages 3 and 10, from a suspected human trafficking camp in Ejigbo, Punch reports.

During a raid carried out by operatives of the command on Tuesday, January 9, the 25-year-old owner of the camp, Comfort Anwana, was also arrested.

NAIJ.com gathers that the policemen also arrested Anwana’s siblings: 23-year-old Blessing and 28-year-old Gift, who lived with her.

The siblings hail from Oron Local Government Area, Akwa Ibom state.

The operation had been carried out following a complaint lodged by some residents of the community, that Anwana took custody of the children illegally.

The operation was led by the commissioner of police, Edgar Imohimi, who stated that the camp was not an orphanage.

He stated: “We are concerned about the children’s welfare. First of all, we must ascertain how they got into Comfort’s (Anwana’s) custody.

“We must ascertain what happened to them while here. Were they abused, sold into slavery or sold as domestic helps?

“This is not an orphanage or a day care centre. We want to know where she got the children from, because we are concerned generally about child abuse.”

However, Anwana claimed that one of the children was hers, while 5 others were children of her older sisters.

She further claimed that she provided for the children’s feeding needs from her own salary.

In her words: “Two of the children are my immediate elder sister’s children; three are my eldest sister’s children whose father was a policeman, while one of them is my child.

“My eldest sister’s place of work is far, so, she leaves them in my care and checks on them occasionally.

“I work in a company as a contract staff member and run shifts. I buy foodstuffs in bulk for the children with my salary.

“I rented the apartment. I wanted to move with them to a two-bedroomed apartment soon. Their fathers are dead, but they still have mothers. They are all schooling here.”

Countering Awana’s claims however, a police officer said the children could not mention their surnames when they were interviewed.

He added that some of them could not mention their mothers’ names.

He stated: “The eldest of them, Lawrence, 10, didn’t know his father’s name. He said his mother took him to the camp and that she comes to check on him once in a while. He could not say what his mother does for a living.

“Another child, Michael, 9, said his mother was a food vendor at Mile 12, and sometimes visited him.

“Eight-year-old Fabian could not mention his parents’ names, while Felicia, 7, who said she had been in the apartment for long, stated that she did not know where her mother lives.

“One of the children, a three-year-old boy, sustained an injury, while another girl of the same age is ill. But Anwana said the ailing girl had been treated by an auxiliary nurse.

“The CP, Imohimi, directed the commander of Area ‘D’ Command, Mushin, ACP Akinbayo Olasoji, to carry out an investigation into the prime suspect’s claims.”

The development was further confirmed by SP Chike Otti, the public relations officer of the command, who stated that investigations were being carried out.

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In a related development, NAIJ.com previously reported that officers of the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) in the Lagos state police command arrested a suspected human trafficker, who was allegedly trying to transport two teenage girls through Lagos to Abidjan in Ivory Coast for prostitution.

The RSS gave the name of the suspect as Martha Edea, 30, a mother of two from Ogoja in Cross River, saying she was nabbed in Lagos after travelling with the young girls from Benin, Edo state.

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