Benue Links, the state-owned transport company, has reported the rescue of 19 minors who were victims of trafficking within the last fortnight.
The firm’s General Manager, Comrade Alexander Fanafa, revealed the development while briefing journalists in Makurdi over the weekend.
Fanafa, outlining the company’s recent achievements, reaffirmed its dedication to collaborating with key government agencies such as the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) to curb child trafficking.
According to him, five youngsters were intercepted only last week. “Somebody was taking them to Jos in Plateau State and when we asked we discovered it was a trafficking case,” he said.
He further explained, “Last two weeks, we recovered 11 from Lagos back to Makurdi and we handed them over to NAPTIP; some days ago we recovered two and on Wednesday last week, we recovered one and handed over the child to the parents in Zaki-Biam.
In fact, we transported the girl from Lagos to Makurdi and from Makurdi to Zaki-Biam, free of charge and the manager in Zaki-Biam went to the house and handed over the child to her people.”
Stating the growing prevalence of human trafficking nationwide, Fanafa stressed that Benue Links is among the few transport operators actively partnering with NAPTIP.
He added, “We have safety officers. We have used Benue Links as a transport company to stop trafficking of children from Benue to other places.
“We have become the only company to recover those who have been trafficked and those that were discovered from elsewhere.
“In fact, children who were trafficked from Benue to other states using other transport companies, once discovered, Benue Links is bringing them back to Benue State free of charge, and then reuniting them with their families.”
The GM emphasized the vigilance of his staff. *“We are one transport company that will monitor you very carefully.
“I have undergone that training personally, our safety officers, our security officers, our traffic officers as well as our monitoring officers have undergone the training with NAPTIP so we can use our eagle eyes to know when a child is being trafficked,” he noted.
Operating in 35 states across Nigeria, Fanafa reaffirmed the company’s pledge to maintain close cooperation with NAPTIP to achieve a trafficking-free Benue and a safer country overall.
