The National Agency for the Prohibition of Traffic in Persons and
 other related offences (NAPTIP) has reiterated its desire to partner with 
the Abia Government to end child abuse in the State. 

Speaking at the Sixth Abia Women Integrated Conference/Pre-August meeting
in Umuahia on Tuesday, Mrs. Nkiruka Michael, the South East Zonal Commander
of NAPTIP, said cases of child trafficking and labour were on the increase. 

Michael explained that more than eight million children in Nigeria were 
involved in various forms of abuse. 

She said that NAPTIP had prosecuted more than 100 cases of child
trafficking, adding that 200 victims in the zone had been rehabilitated. 

The commander said the cases had direct bearing on the proliferation of
illegal maternity homes and appealed to the state government to take steps
to ban such homes. 

”There must be a dedicated effort on the part of the government and other
bodies to solve the socio-economic problems which contribute to the
 problem,” she said. 

Michael said the government needed to enforce the existing laws on the
right to education for the child as provided for in the Universal
Declaration for Human Rights and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). 

In her speech, Mrs. Odochi Orji, the wife of the State Governor, called on
 relevant government agencies to scrutinize the procedure for the 
registration of motherless babies’ homes. 

Mrs. Odochi Orji called for the review of the processes of child adoption in order to 
save future generations. 

She said the idea was to identify the fake from the genuine and help to
abolish the illegal business of child trafficking and close all baby
factories in the society. 

Mrs. Odochi Orji said it was immoral for a woman to sell her child because of poverty
 and appealed to the womenfolk to discourage their peers from such evil
act.
October 28, 2023
