AKSG DECRIES INCREASED RATE IN CHILD THEFT AND TRAFFICKING…AS A’IBOM CHILDREN RECENTLY INTERCEPTED IN TWO STATES REUNITED WITH BIOLOGICAL PARENTS.

 

By Edet Okpo & Substance Nature 

Akwa Ibom State Government has expressed serious concerns  over the increasing incidence of child theft and trafficking in the State, stating that unless parents and security agencies collaborate  with government more effectively by joining efforts and improving upon strategies at tackling the menace, more Akwa Ibom children of vulnerable age may be at the risk of being sold out or trafficked to unknown destinations. 

Making the State Government's disposition public, the  Commissioner for  Women Affairs and Social Welfare, Dr. Ini Adiakpan, during facts finding  meeting at the Conference room of the Ministry on May 4, 2022, with the  Management Staff of the Ministry, Parents who had issues  in identifying their missing children recovered by Akwa Ibom State Government,  representatives of Security agencies, NAPTIP,  Advocacy group and the Media, made reference to a trending  case involving two Akwa Ibom children who were surreptitiously whisked out of the state by child trafficking syndicates but were fortunately intercepted by collaborative efforts  of  security agencies from Akwa Ibom, Imo and Kogi States  while on transit.

During an  interactive session,  Dr. Adiakpan, who has been widely celebrated for her relentless advocacy against child trafficking and pragmatic commitment towards curbing the ugly trend, affirmed the recent interception of the two Akwa Ibom children from same parents and apprehension of the culprits who confessed to having stolen the victim in Ikono local government area of the State and were on their way to sell him out to prospects in other states.

According to the commissioner, while one of the children was said to have been taken en-route Kogi State, his other sibling was transported by the traffickers to Imo State, both of whom were lucky to be intercepted. The commissioner said perhaps the happiest part of the development, which she described as a miracle, was that while the kogi-bound vehicle was said to have been involved in a ghastly accident but the child being the only survivor who, according to reports, was latter rescued from the wreckage of the accident by security personnel, his brother also met divine intervention in Imo State.

She further disclosed that after the news and pictures of the missing children had gone viral online, she quickly set up crack team of staff from her ministry to liaise with concerned authorities and get to the root of the matter, which ultimately saw the case being transferred to the Akwa Ibom State Command of Nigeria Police Force  and subsequently to her ministry.

She said,  “After due consultations with appropriate authorities and efforts from the State Government, the case was finally transferred to the Akwa Ibom State Police Command, and thereof,  it fell squarely on me to do the needful, which included taking custody of the child at the State’s Special Children Home, IBB Way, Uyo.

"Because of the attention the social media has given to the matter, three parents with cases of missing children showed interest in a matter of days and started showing up at our office for possible identification”. the Commissioner hinted.

Information given revealed that one of the three parents was one Mr. Edwin Iroulor who hails from Imo State but resides in Uyo. A father of three, Iroulor told the gathering  that armed robbers had raided his house in Uyo in February 2021 and in the end, made away with some household items and his male child who was born in October 2020. 

He lamented that when he heard and later read in the social media the  news of missing children from Akwa Ibom State having been intercepted in Imo State, he immediately travelled to the office of the Imo State Police Command, only to be told that the culprits had already been charged to court and because of that, conclusion on the matter was pending. But after weeks of waiting, Iroulor recalled, he was informed on the next visit that the matter has been transferred to the Akwa Ibom State Command. “That was why I returned to Uyo to follow up the matter with the authorities concerned”, he stated.

On how Mr. Iroulor came into contact with the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development in Uyo,  Dr. Adikpan stated in her remarks that when he showed up at the office the first day, he was advised to go and return  with his wife on a notified date. The same directive, the commissioner said, was given to every other spouse who turned up alone, since there are requisite steps for due diligence.  

Dr. Adiakpan explained  that when Mr.Edwin  Iroulor later came with his wife, Mrs. Maryjane, like it was to be done to the other two parents in contention, they were escorted to the Special Home. But after series of examination of the missing child recently brought back as well as other older ones, Iroulor was unable to identify his own child with any convincing evidence. Asked to describe his child, Iroulor only insisted that he has long hair, which incidentally, none of the children at the home had.  

It was  gathered that one of the other parents from Esit Eket, who was represented by a cousin, Lady Evangelist Cecilia John Ikot, said after due examination of the children brought before her, none resembled the missing child she was looking for.

Volunteering comments during an interactive session, Evangelist Cecelia Ikot said if her child was amongst the ones presented, there would have been no difficulty to spot him, stating however that after that inquiry, the family had given up in the hope that someday a good news shall break in their favour.

However, according to the Matron of the Special Chidren’s Home, Mrs. Bernadette Udo Ekwere, in a testimony collaborated by the Director, Child Development Department of the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Affairs, Mrs. Mary Atan, it was reported that when the third parents with claims of missing children arrived from Ikono and children at the Special  Home were presented before them, the mother, on sighting the child from a reasonable distance, instantly rushed and identified the young boy, crying and cuddling him empathetically in the process.  

They disclosed that, to the shock of many, the mother on being asked to supply any peculiar or unique evidence for the identification of the child whom she called by name, hinted of a small mark on the tip of the little boy’s penis, which she said had occurred by error during the process of circumcision of the young lad by a midwife. 

Dr. Adikpan then disclosed that she called for the meeting  “to clear the air” because, while the ministry was undertaking the painstaking steps of taking the parents through the various stages of identification of the said missing child or children, Mr.Edwin  Iroulor was said to have taken his desperation and impatience too far by embarking on vociferous media campaign that supposedly maligned and threatened the ministry and the State government on the matter. 

However, we can authoritatively  report that, Mr. and Mrs Edwin  Iroulor, having been satisfied and convinced by available evidence from the Ministry, including pictures of the “hidden unique mark in the baby” and suspected original parents of the missing child who had showed up with other siblings, pleaded for forgiveness,having realized that the baby in contention was not theirs, and openly admitted that the parents from Ikono Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State who identified the hidden mark from the private part of the baby was the rightful owner of the recovered Child. Edwin flanked by his Wife Maryjane  accepted without reservations the outcome of the meeting. 

Mr. Iroulor however said the hasty and frantic actions he took must have been prompted by the trauma of the moment, the frustrations and sufferings the police authority in Imo State put him through. He gave the assurance that he will reach out to his  lawyers to ‘” forget about  the matter indefinitely”, nor will he call for any DNA, which available evidence before him automatically overruled. “But my wish is that justice be done by bringing the culprits to book”, he finally appealed to the government. 

Having been satisfied with Mr. Edwin's submission, Dr. Ini Adiakpan assured that the child in question who was still in the custody of the Ministry, might be released to the parents after related protocol of checks shall have been concluded. 

The Commissioner seized the opportunity to remind parents and caregivers of the many child protective laws in the state, charging them to take parenting seriously and endeavor to benefit maximally from the existing free and compulsory education to secure their children's future than make them vulnerable.  

Also present at the Meeting  were the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry; Mrs Margaret Edem, police officer handling the case, OC, Family Unit, Akwa Ibom State Police Command, Mrs. Nse Umoh; a representative from the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) and 2,1c Commander, Uyo, Mr. Ubong Ekwere; and a public-issues presenter on Passion 94.5 FM radio, Uyo, Mr. Matthew Okono.