Anambra State Police Command has rescued 60 children moved into the state by traffickers in the last one month.
It has also saved many children subjected to all manner of inhuman treatments in various parts of the state.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) in charge of State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Wan Mantu Chongs, disclosed this when Beecharity Outlook Foundation led by Sir Paul Nwosu paid a visit to the Commissioner Police, Dr. Ikioye Orutugu, at the command headquarters, Amawbia, at the weekend.
The visit was part of the foundation’s activities to mark the 2026 International Day Against Child Labour themed: “Red Card to Child Labour: Fair Play for Children, Decent Work for Adults.”
Chongs, while expressing sadness over the dangers children were exposed to, said, however, that the police command under the leadership of CP Orutugu was working hard to protect children and other vulnerable individuals in the state.
“Just in the last one month or six weeks, we’ve, at the CID level, recovered about 60 children that have been trafficked, been sold into circumstances that they don’t know, and they’re of minor ages, some between the ages of one to 10”, Chongs revealed.
“And in fact, beyond that, there’s a case we had. A woman adopted two children. She lost her children and chose to adopt.
“Strangely, I have never seen the kind of wickedness I saw displayed on a child as she did. Their backs, every part of them completely brutalised”, he narrated further.
Earlier in his speech, Orutugu, said that the command was doing everything within its powers to protect children from harm, warning that anybody who violates the Child Rights Act would be brought to book.
“Every child should have a right to medical care, welfare, good food, good housing and all. However, have we deliberately, as a people, as a government, as a movement, as a society, provided for that Nigerian child?” he queried.
Chairman of the foundation, Nwosu, appealed to everyone to see the need to protect children always as they do not have a voice strong enough to defend themselves.
“They depend on responsible adults and institutions to speak and act on their behalf. The future of our society is sitting today in our homes, classrooms and communities. If we fail them today, we endanger tomorrow.
“Let us therefore join hands to ensure that no child is robbed of childhood, denied education, or forced into labour. Every child deserves not a burden to carry, but a dream to pursue”, he said.
