Adamawa State Governor, Ahmadu Fintiri, on Wednesday reunited 14 abducted children who were trafficked to the state.
Fintiri, who warned parents against sending children below the age of 10 on errands and going to school alone, said that the government would no longer tolerate such careless acts.
The governor, represented by his deputy, Kaletapwa Farauta, at the official handing over ceremony in her office, said that the children had undergone several medical tests and treatment before they were handed over to their parents.
Farauta stated, “I welcome you to a mixed feeling of sadness and joy. It is sad that today, Adamawa State is on the map of an unfortunate monster which has been ravaging the nation.
“The monster of child trafficking. This is an infamous story we hear happening far away from the state. Unfortunately, it has caught up with us.
“In July, 2025, we got an intelligence report of cases of missing children, most of them minors.”
She said that the government swung into action, with the cooperation of security operatives, the Police, the DSS and the NSCDC.
“We launched a combined manhunt on the menace. Our combined effort paid off with the arrest of the heinous human trafficking ring leader, a middle-aged woman of Ibo extraction identified as Ngozi Abdulwahab.
“This notorious trafficker has perfected the art of trafficking minors aged 4-9 years from various communities in Adamawa State to the southeastern region of Nigeria, where she sold the victims for paltry sums ranging from ₦800,000 to ₦1.7m per child.
“She operated from a small provision shop which she owned at Jambutu ward, Yola-North LGA, where she used snacks and gifts to lure unsuspecting children,” she added.
Farauta stated that the monstrous crime is not only traumatic to the victims and their parents, but a sad and strange reality to the state.
She vowed that the perpetrator would not go unpunished, pointing out that the government must not rest until the suspects come face to face with the full weight of the law.
“We have ordered the immediate prosecution of the suspects under the Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Enforcement and Administration Act, 2015 (Federal Law), Adamawa State Child Protection Law (2008), Violence against Persons (Prohibition) Law, 2021 and the Penal Code of Adamawa State.
“The message of His Excellency Rt. Hon. Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri to the human traffickers and those who aid them in this heinous act is clear: Adamawa State is the wrong place to come to. We shall flush them out and dismantle their networks, and they will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
“Our citizens are our most cherished assets and under no condition should anybody convert them into commodities of trade.”
Each of the parents of the abducted children got ₦100,000 and food and non-food items to cushion the effect of the reunion and set up a small enterprise to cater to the household.
“To parents across the state, I call on you to take parenting more seriously.
“Children are sacred blessings from God. We must treat them with the deserved responsibility,” she said.
She urged the public to be vigilant and report any suspicious signs to the appropriate authority for immediate action.
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