24th July, 2016
Nigeria Immigration Service, NIS, Oyo State Command has rescued no fewer than 131 children from child traffickers in the last four months.
Disclosing this in Ibadan, the Oyo State Comptroller, Mrs. Victoria Isangedighi said that 56 children out of those rescued have been reunited with their parents, adding that the children who were victims of child trafficking by people from within the country and foreigners alike, were rescued through the intelligence and surveillance effort of men of the Command.
Isangedighi explained that not less than 75 of the rescued children are minors who were suspected to have been lured from their parents by unsuspecting relatives for the purpose of using the children for child labour both within and outside the country.
She disclosed further that from February till date, 144 traffickers were arrested. They include 75 Nigerians and 69 non-Nigerians.
Her words, “We have arrested about 144 traffickers since February. Out of this figure, 75 of them are Nigerians while the remaining 69 are non-Nigerians. Also, 131 children have been rescued from various human traffickers. Seventy-five of them are minors while the remaining 56 have been reunited to their parents because they are Nigerian”.
In a chat with newsmen, Isangedighi said that 12 of the cases that required further investigation and probably prosecution had been transferred to the National Agency for the Prohibition of Traffic in Persons and Other related Matters (NAPTIP).
She said in the last two months of her assumption of office, the Command registered 7,300 foreigners from across the ECOWAS countries who have shown interest in staying within the jurisdiction of the command from the neighbouring West African countries.
The Command also apprehended over 2,000 illegal immigrants with either fake or invalid documents.
She commended the effort of the border corps of the Command, who arrest and repatriate illegal immigrants, in the face of the security challenges facing the country
Enumerating efforts to ensure more effective and efficient service delivery to the large number of people who throng the state Command, to apply for international passport, the immigration boss appealed to prospective applicants not to patronise touts and fraudsters in this regard.
”The Command is currently undergoing massive facelift to ensure a more conducive and comfortable place for prospective applicants who come into the office to seek the services of the Command,”she added.
She explained that a VIP waiting section is to be created soon to accommodate dignitaries, senior citizens and the elderly seeking the services of the Command