The Chairman of Bassa Local Government Area of Plateau State, Hon. Sunday Riti, has disclosed that more than 20 children who were trafficked from the area to different parts of Nigeria have been rescued and reunited with their families.
Riti made this known during a press briefing held at the council secretariat in Bassa.
He lamented that Bassa ranks among the top local government areas in Plateau State mostly affected by child trafficking, describing the situation as alarming and in need of urgent, collective response.
“Bassa is either first or second among the local governments with the highest number of child trafficking cases,” he said. “Recently, 14 of our children were brought back home through the collaboration of the council, the Gender and Equal Opportunities Commission, and the Ministry of Women Affairs.”
According to him, most of the trafficked children were taken to southern and eastern parts of the country, including Enugu, Port Harcourt and Lagos, where their names and identities were changed.
“It is heartbreaking that many of these children no longer understand our language. They now bear different names and speak Igbo fluently,” he lamented.
Riti announced plans to establish a special task force that will track and prevent child trafficking activities in the area. The committee, he said, will also focus on ending child labour in mining sites and prosecuting parents whose children are found engaging in such activities.
