The Plateau State Police Command has busted another child trafficking syndicate in the State after a credible intelligence received by the Joint Taskforce, which apprehended a woman named Nanman Pungtel at Old Airport junction Jos, the state capital.
The State had been in the news recently over reported cases of child trafficking.
It was gathered that the suspect was found with three kids in her custody, which she couldn’t explain. Further investigation led to the arrest of the mastermind of the trafficking operations, one Pastor Dayo Bernard of End Time Army Ministry in Bukuru, on the same night.
The operation led to the rescue of five children between the ages of two and four abducted from various homes in Kwande district of Qua’anpan LGA of the State, and the subsequent arrest of other members of the syndicate identified as Rita Agboeze, Victoria Ugwu, and Peter Ukwuani.
The suspects, who were ferried from Jos to Abuja, were later paraded by the Force Public Relations Officer (FPRO), ACP Olumuyiwa Adejobi.
However, the kingpin and principal suspect, Pastor Dayo, confessed to have abducted and sold 13 Plateau children at various prices ranging from ₦350,000 to ₦750,000, all of whom have been recovered by the police and reunited with their families.
The Plateau State Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development, Panglang Dafur, also called out some religious leaders and other institutions of being complicit in child trafficking in the state.
