The Yobe State Command has confirmed the arrest and detention of 21 minors heading to Niger Republic.
The Command Public Relation Officer Mohammed Abubakar Maina told The Nation in Damaturu the minors were being transported by one Abubakar Said who claimed to be the guardian of the children.
He explained the children were travelling from Niger State to Maine Sorowa in Niger Republic under the guise of seeking Islamic education.
One of the major problems we noticed after profiling them was the age range of the children. All the children are between the ages of 6-15 years.
“With that kind of age range, you cannot determine what is good or bad for you, let alone travelling to another country. Another was that none of them have any kind of travelling document like an international passport or an ECOWAS passport to travel out of Nigeria,” Yerima added.
At exactly when and where they were intercepted, Yerima said: “They were arrested on Tuesday this week at one of our control posts at Geidam town in Giedam local Government at the border of Nigeria and Niger Republic”.
The command PRO informed the minors have been handed over to National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) in company of Bukar Mai Madu, the Child Protection Officer at the Ministry of Youth and Social Development, Yobe State.
The Child Protection Officer for Yobe explained: “The minors are under investigation but after investigation all of them will be sent back to be reunited with their various families.
“So far, preliminary investigation has revealed that, the people from that axis, including Sokoto, Zamfara, Kebbi use to take children to that school in Niger where they register and pay”, Bukar added.
On whether the guardian and the drivers will be prosecuted, Bukar said “the only offence of the guardian and the driver was that they were not carrying any form of document for traveling. What will happen is that the children can travel back to Niger with every necessary document but for now they will all have to be taken back to their families in Niger State”.
