NAPTIP clarifies Asaba operation, reaffirms commitment to protecting children

By Favour Ulebor, Abuja

The Director-General of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking successful Persons (NAPTIP), Binta Adamu Bello, has dismissed claims that the agency’s operatives abducted children during a June cognition successful Asaba, Delta State, insisting that the ngo was a lawful rescue exercise.

Speaking astatine a media briefing connected Friday astatine the agency’s office successful Abuja, Bello explained that the cognition led to the rescue of 8 children allegedly stolen from Kano State.

She said antagonistic narratives, particularly connected societal media, had sought to misrepresent the involution arsenic an abduction carried retired by NAPTIP.

The NAPTIP brag explained that the lawsuit originated from a petition received successful December 2022 from the Protection Against Abduction and Missing Children (PATAMOC), which raised alarm implicit kid abductions successful Kano State.

Investigations, she said, uncovered that 1 Hauwa Abubakar of Gombe State was arrested by constabulary for being successful possession of stolen children.

Hauwa admitted to selling 21 children to 1 Nkechi Odlyne, who allegedly sold 7 of them to Christopher Ogugua Nwoye, proprietor of Happy Home Orphanage successful Asaba, astatine N450,000 each.

She disclosed that 3 of the 4 children recovered were identified by their biologic parents successful Gombe, portion the 4th child, identified done photos circulated by PATAMOC, was claimed by a Kano parent arsenic her missing daughter, Aisha Buhari.

To rescue the girl, Bello said, NAPTIP deployed operatives to Asaba connected June 12, 2025, successful collaboration with PATAMOC and the Kano State Parents’ Association of Missing Children.

She said, “The main purpose of this briefing is to clarify immoderate issues that person recovered their mode into the media abstraction particularly the societal media successful caller weeks against the Agency with regards to an cognition carried retired by our operatives successful Asaba, Delta State successful June this year, starring to the rescue of 8 children allegedly stolen from Kano State.

“That cognition has led to antagonistic narratives by assorted persons including those who were commenting innocently based connected their acceptance of the skewed narratives of the fishy who has made himself unavailable to the Agency for due probe contempt invitations done telephone calls and done his lawyers.

Some person adjacent gone up to telephone the Agency unprintable names and dubbed the cognition an ‘abduction’ by the Agency.

“The said Christopher Ogugua was subsequently arrested successful Gombe State, and upon interrogation, helium admitted the transgression and subsequently returned 4 (4) children. Christopher Ogugua Nwoye, Hauwa Abubakar and Nkechi Odlyne are presently undergoing prosecution astatine the High Court 1 Gombe State. While the 2 women are successful situation custody, Mr. Nwoye perfected his bail and is attending tribunal sessions successful Gombe.”

“For a hitch escaped operation, and successful enactment with the Agency’s procedures, a missive was submitted to the bureau of the Delta State Commissioner of Police aforesaid time requesting enactment to the operatives to transportation retired the operations.

“In a awesome of 13th July, the Deputy Commissioner of Police who acted connected the missive sent a awesome to the Area Commander, Asaba arsenic good arsenic the Divisional Police Officer, B’ Division directing them to springiness the NAPTIP squad the needed support,” she explained.

The DG added that equipped constabulary officers accompanied the squad to the orphanage, wherever implicit 70 children were profiled. Eight were positively identified done photographs, including Aisha Buhari.

She stressed that nary arrests were made during the cognition arsenic lone the proprietor’s woman was present.

“No apprehension was made determination arsenic the woman was the lone big disposable astatine the clip and taking her distant would origin problems wrong the installation arsenic a effect of the ample fig of children determination including toddlers,” she said.

Bello revealed that attempts to get the proprietor to contiguous himself for questioning had failed.

Instead, helium allegedly resorted to blackmail and mobilised women to laic assertion to the rescued children.

The DG said the children are present successful NAPTIP’s protective structure portion investigations, including DNA testing, continue.

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