Five underage children have been rescued from the grip of suspected human traffickers who allegedly sought to smuggle them across the border into the Benin Republic under the false promise of enrolling them in schools, the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) has disclosed.
The rescue operation, carried out by NAPTIP operatives, culminated in the arrest of a man identified as Pastor Ayuba, described as the leader of the trafficking syndicate, who was intercepted in Edo State as he allegedly attempted to move the children toward the Nigeria-Benin border.
Disclosing details of the operation on Monday night, the NAPTIP Commander for Kebbi State, Misbahu Iya Kaura, said the children were formally handed over to the Kebbi State Government in a brief ceremony held at the Government House in Birnin Kebbi.
According to Kaura, the suspect had claimed during preliminary questioning that he possessed the consent of the children’s parents, insisting that his mission was to relocate the minors to the Benin Republic to secure them better educational opportunities.
However, the NAPTIP commander was quick to dismiss this as a familiar and dangerous ruse employed by trafficking networks to lower the guard of unsuspecting families.
“This is how they convince people to carry their children under the pretext of enrolling them in schools abroad, but end up abusing them or putting them into slavery,” Kaura warned, underscoring the deceptive tactics traffickers often deploy dressing up exploitation in the language of opportunity and upward mobility.
He confirmed that the principal suspect remains in custody and will be arraigned in court once investigations into the full scope of the syndicate’s operations are concluded, raising the possibility that more accomplices could still be at large.
Receiving the rescued children on behalf of the state, Governor Nasir Idris represented at the event by his deputy, Senator Abubakar Umar Tafidan Kabi issued a stern advisory to parents across the state, cautioning them against being lured by individuals promising overseas education for their children without proper verification.
The Deputy Governor urged families to thoroughly vet the identities and intentions of anyone offering to take children out of the country, stressing that due diligence remains the first line of defense against trafficking.
He further warned that parents found to have knowingly colluded with traffickers would not be spared the full weight of the law a signal that the state intends to hold complicit adults accountable, not just the traffickers themselves.
Following the handover, the Deputy Governor personally oversaw the reunification of the five children with their families in an emotional scene at the Government House.
Among the relieved parents was Emmanuel Aduba, who publicly thanked the Kebbi State Government and NAPTIP officials for their swift intervention, crediting the agency’s vigilance with sparing his child from an uncertain and potentially perilous fate.
The incident adds to a growing list of cross-border trafficking cases intercepted along Nigeria’s western corridor, and authorities say it underscores the persistent threat posed by syndicates exploiting the promise of education to prey on vulnerable families.
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW
The rescue of these five children is a stark reminder that traffickers routinely disguise exploitation as opportunity using the promise of “better education abroad” to gain parents’ trust before smuggling children across borders into abuse or slavery.
No offer to take a child out of the country, however well-intentioned it may sound, should go unverified. Parents must independently confirm the identity, credentials, and legitimacy of anyone including religious or community figures proposing to relocate their children, and report suspicious offers to NAPTIP or local authorities immediately.
Vigilance at the family level remains the first and most effective line of defense against child trafficking.
