1. 44 Almajiri students has tested negative to COVID-19 in Zamfara
Zamfara Government on Thursday said all the 44 Almajiri school students sent home by the Kaduna state government had tested negative to COVID-19.
The State Commissioner of Information, Alhaji Sulaiman Tunau disclosed this to newsmen in Gusau on Thursday.
“Out of the number, five of the Almajiri school students were from Dansadau emirate in Maru local government area while the remaining 39 were from Kwatarkwashi emirate of Bungudu local government.
“We have already handed them over to their parents through Kwatarkwashi and Dansadau emirates,” he added.
Meanwhile, a 14 seater passenger bus carrying teenagers suspected to be Almajiri was on Wednesday evening intercepted at the Patani/Bayelsa border axis of the East-West Road by men of the Bayelsa State Vigilante.
The passengers who claimed to have come from Zamfara State were rounded up by men of the Vigilante, led by its acting chairman, Mr. Doubiye Alagba, with other security officers and we’re immediately ordered back when they could not provide reasonable answers about their trip to the state.
It was gathered that operatives of the State Vigilante intercepted the bus after receiving intelligence report that a bus conveying the teenagers was about making entrance to the state capital.
24 Akwa Ibom girls has been rescued from Lagos traffickers den
The Lagos State Police Command, on Wednesday, arrested four suspected human traffickers and rescued 24 girls, whose ages range from 13 to 27, from their hideout in the Abattoir area of Agege.
We gathered that the suspects, Okon Felix, Michael Etim, Victor Asuquo and Goodness Ebiefie, allegedly trafficked the victims from the Oron Local Government Area, Akwa Ibom State, and kept them in shanties in the Abattoir area of Lagos, where they use the girls for prostitution.
After frantic efforts to locate the whereabouts of one of the victims proved abortive in her home state, it was learnt that her family reported a case of a missing person to the police in the state.
While speaking with PUNCH Metro, a source said someone, who saw the victim in the Abattoir area of Lagos State, informed her sister, who came to Lagos and contacted the police.
“After efforts to locate her proved abortive, someone saw her in Lagos State and the police were contacted to rescue her and on getting to the hideout, 23 more girls were found in the location,” the source stated.
PUNCH Metro gathered that the suspects sublet the shanties, where they kept each of the victims at the rate of N1,000 daily, and were collecting between N1,500 and N2,000 from customers, who visit the shanties to have sex with the girls.
Confirming the incident, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Bala Elkana, said the 24 girls were trafficked to the state since January, adding that they were rescued by personnel from the Area ‘G’ and the Abattoir Division, while four suspects were arrested.
He stated that investigation into the matter was ongoing, adding that the suspects would be charged.
Elkana said, “Twenty-four girls were trafficked from Akwa Ibom State to Lagos since January 2020. We have rescued the girls and arrested four suspected traffickers, Felix Okon, 32; Michael Etim, 22; Victor Asuquo, 35; and Goodness Ebiefie, 32. The girls are between the ages of 13 and 27, and we rescued them around the Abattoir area along the railway line.
“The matter was reported to us as a case of a missing person. One of the girls was reported missing in Akwa Ibom State and the family was searching for her and got information that the girl was seen somewhere in Lagos, so when we got to the location, we stormed it in search of the girl and found her.
Surprisingly, we also found 23 other girls, who are all from Akwa Ibom State, and all of them confessed that their parents were not aware of their whereabouts.
“The girls all live in shanties and pay N1,000 per day for the shanties. The traffickers brought them to Lagos for prostitution and they collect between N1,500 and N2,000 from customers, who sleep with them, and some of them don’t get the money directly, because the customers pay the pimps. We are investigating the case, because the number is likely to be higher. The suspects will be charged.”