Muhammad Kabir KANO
National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) has arrested a Commander of Hisbah, the Fagge village head and a woman identified as Mrs. Loveth for allegedly selling a one-year-old boy.
The state Zonal Commandant of NAPTIP, Shehu Umar, told journalists that the Hisbah Commander in Fagge Local Government Area, the Fagge village head and Mrs. Loveth were invited to answer queries over the selling of the oneyear- old boy.
He said the boy, who was allegedly sold to Mrs. Loveth by the Hisbah Chief and the Fagge village head, was already taken to Imo State and was handed over to Mrs. Loveth’s mother, who was also in NAPTIP’s custody.
Umar said after receiving reports on the matter, NAPTIP launched an investigation into the matter which led its officials to Mrs. Loveth’s mother in Imo State. According to him, the woman and the boy were brought to Kano.
Although the commandant said the suspects had been granted bail he, however, explained that the case attracted five years’ imprisonment and a fine of N2 million.
He said: “Right now, three persons, the Hisbah Commander, the village head and Mrs. Loveth are the prime as suspects, while Loveth’s mother was detained for taking into her care the stolen and sold boy.”
Umar added that the agency was investigating two things – illegal adoption and sales of the baby boy.
“Soon, we will conclude our investigation,” he added. Already, the state Implementation Committee on Missing Persons, headed by Justice Wada Rano, has stepped into the matter. The committee is said to be working in tandem with NAPTIP to prosecute the suspects.
