Workers in Cross River State Allegedly Tried to Sell Employer’s Child

The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) has accused three workers in Ogoja, Cross River State, of trying to sell their employer’s two-year-old child.

Oba Joseph, who runs the Cross River Command of NAPTIP, shared this news with the News Agency of Nigeria on Thursday in Calabar.

Mr Joseph said the agency got a call on Monday about the incident. It happened in Ogberia Ochoro community, where the suspects allegedly took the two-year-old child while trying to move him to another place for sale.

According to him, the suspects claimed they had worked for their employer for about three months without getting paid. “They said they decided to traffic the child as revenge and to recover the money they claimed they were owed.”

The NAPTIP chief mentioned that the employer denied the claims. The employer insisted he had paid them everything except for August, which had not ended yet.

He explained that the suspects were caught after a farmer coming back from the farm saw them acting suspiciously with the child. “The farmer questioned them. One of the suspects allegedly said that the two-year-old child was his own.”

The farmer was not convinced by their answer and raised an alarm. This led to the suspects' arrest after they had passed through about four communities.

Mr Joseph said investigations are still ongoing. He mentioned that the agency plans to prosecute the suspects once the investigation is complete.

He pointed out a big issue was the difference in the suspects’ ages. The community recorded them as being 18, 19, and 27 years old. The suspects, however, told NAPTIP they were 16, 17, and 25. This made the agency reach out to their parents to confirm their real ages.

Mr Joseph said if their ages are confirmed as they stated, they might be treated as children in conflict with the law. This could change how the court handles the case.

He stressed that no matter what their ages are, the attempted trafficking of the two-year-old child is a serious matter. The investigation will decide the right way to proceed with the prosecution.