NAPTIP rescues two young A’Ibom boys

Etim Ekpimah

National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) has rescued two young Akwa Ibom boys, who were trafficked to Taraba State for forced labour.

Speaking in Uyo on Monday, the Uyo Zonal Commander of NAPTIP, Mr Emmanuel Awhen noted that the agency received a complaint about the missing young boys, Abasifreke Okon and Precious Ene, who were living with their parents in the Uyo metropolis.

It was gathered that Ene was accused of luring Okon out of Uyo. Ene’s mother was reported to the palace of the Paramount Ruler of Uyo, who handed over the woman, Mrs Grace Ene to the agency for investigation.

Through the investigation, it was learnt that one Mr Christian Gombe came to Uyo and lured the boys to Taraba State to work for him without the consent of their parents.

Based on the complaint, the zonal commander said that the Uyo zonal command had to contact NAPTIP in Taraba State and alert them of the incident.

So, the search for the boys began, and Gombe was contacted. Having known that the agency was involved, he volunteered to return the boys to Uyo immediately.

“We had a call from the paramount ruler of Uyo telling us about the case. We sent our officers to the palace to get the woman to our office.

“The woman was detained and we communicated the incident to our Taraba office.

“In the process, we were able to get the number of the man who trafficked the boys.

“So, we informed our men in Taraba and asked him to take the two boys to our Taraba office. When he heard of NAPTIP, he immediately complied and had to send the boys back to us,”  Awhen said.

Narrating their ordeal, Precious Ene said they met Mr Christian Gombe, at BetNaija along Nwaniba, who asked them whether they would like to work, and that he would give them a job in Taraba State.

So, on Feb. 12 Gombe, came back with a ticket for them to travel to Taraba, where they would work for him.

“We got there on Feb. 13 and he gave us a place to stay. We started selling building materials for him,” Ene said.

He narrated that the man did not give them any money until they were returned to Uyo to meet their parents on March 14.

The boys expressed appreciation to NAPTIP officials for rescuing them, as they were not comfortable staying in Taraba.

Awhen appealed to parents and guardians to be mindful of those coming to take their children with the intention of greener pastures, stressing that they might end up in child labour or prostitution.

The zonal commander urged traffickers to desist from such acts, as the state and country were no longer safe for such erroneous crimes.

He urged victims of human trafficking, parents and guardians and the general public to reach the agency on the following phone numbers when they need help; 08069539747, 08023574406 and 08035961835.