Four trafficked Plateau children rescued, 25 suspects arrested

Operatives of the Plateau State Police Command have rescued four children after they were tricked away with biscuits by suspected child traffickers in the state.

The state Commissioner of Police, Olugbenga Adesina, who disclosed this on Wednesday while briefing journalists at the command’s headquarters in Jos, the state capital, said two of the suspects had been arrested.

Adesina said, “On October 12, 2024, at about 04:30 pm, we received a report at the “A” Division Police Station stating that on 11/10/2024 at about 04:30 pm when they returned from work, they discovered that four of their children were missing.

“Upon inquiry, they were informed by their neighbour’s daughter that they were seen with one Comfort, a female, who usually comes to visit her friend, one Adamu Bawa, in the compound to buy her biscuits.

Upon receipt of the report, our men immediately swung into action which led to the rescue of the four children and two suspects.”

A total of 25 suspects who were arrested by the police operatives for various offences were also paraded by the police.

The police chief who condemned the activities of the criminals said a fabricated pistol was recovered from one of the suspects identified as Emmanuel Joseph after robbing a female churchgoer of her phone and power bank valued at N75,000.

According to the CP, “On 16/10/2024, at about 10:00 am, one Sandra Dalyop, a female, of opposite Ebenezer Church Jos, reported at the “A” Division Police Station that on 08/10/2024 at about 08:00 pm while on her way from church, she was robbed of the following items by unidentified armed men: one Tecno Camon 12 pro valued about N60,000 only, and one Redmi power bank valued about N15,000 only.

“Upon receipt of the report, our men at the “A” Division led by the DPO immediately commenced an investigation and as a result, one Emmanuel Joseph, male, of Rukuba Road, Jos, was arrested. The exhibit recovered in his possession includes one locally fabricated pistol.

The CP also disclosed that among the 25 suspects were 11 “Yahoo boys” who specialised in abducting secondary school graduates and used them to defraud members of the public by adopting romance scams.

He said, “On October 20, 2024, at about 10:30 am, we received a report that the following persons, one Ateh Anthony Idoko and Daniel Idoko, both 23 years old, of Agingi, Rukuba Road, who are Internet fraudsters (Yahoo-Yahoo), conspired among themselves to traffic young boys who have just graduated from secondary schools to a secluded residence, locked them up, seized their phones and having shown them how to masterfully defraud people via romance scam and other cyber-related frauds, forced them to go into the Internet and continue to defraud innocent would-be victims. If they refused to cooperate, the ring leader would beat them mercilessly with a horsewhip.

“Upon receipt of this information, the Divisional Police Officer, Rantya Division, under my strict directive, immediately mobilised men and swung into action, raided the hideout where 11 suspects were arrested, including the two principal suspects.”

The CP said all the suspects would be charged in court after investigations were concluded.

“In a time such as this, the role of our communities in maintaining the peace and security of our state cannot be overemphasised. Therefore, I will like to thank the good people of Plateau State, for their continued support for the police and their input in this fight against crime and criminality. I encourage you to continue to partner the police to ensure a better and more peaceful Plateau State. When you see something, Say something,” the commissioner added.