Operatives from the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command, attached to Rapid Response Squad 74, arrested a pastor, Simon Kado, along with his relative Jesse Simon-Kado, and their driver, Muhammad Isah, for child trafficking.
They were apprehended on Friday while transporting 12 underage children- eight girls and four boys aged between five and 16 years- from Nasarawa State to Ogun State
This information was disclosed by the FCT Police Public Relations Officer, SP Josephine Adeh, in a statement released on Saturday.
Adeh said, “Operatives of the FCT Police Command attached to the Rapid Response Squad 74, on Friday, February 9, at about 12:55 am, intercepted one Muhammad Isah, male, of Kafanchan, Kaduna State in a Toyota Hiace bus with Reg No APP 489 XE, conveying twelve; four male and eight female; underaged children to a destination later discovered to be in Ogun state.
“Preliminary investigation revealed that the children whose ages are between five years to 16 years, all from Akwanga LGA, Nasarawa State were being trafficked to Ogun state by one Pastor Simon Kado, male, and Jesse Simon-Kado, male, who are now presently in police custody.
“While the investigation is still ongoing and efforts in conduit with Nasarawa State Police Command on how to reunite victims with their respective families, the Commissioner of Police FCT, Benneth Igweh, wishes to reiterate that the safety of residents remains his utmost priority.”
Recently, there has been a surge in kidnapping and bandit attacks in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
In January 2024, the Special Intervention Squad of the Federal Capital Territory Police Command took down three notorious bandits in a forest within the Bwari area of Abuja.
In the same month, Janari, a notorious kidnap kingpin alleged to have masterminded multiple kidnappings in Kaduna State and Abuja, along with some of his foot soldiers, were killed during operations conducted by the air component of Operation Whirl Punch in Kaduna State.
Kanyi Daily recalls that the Nigeria Police Force’s Intelligence Response Team had eliminated notorious kidnappers and gun runners who were terrorizing Abuja, Kaduna, Kogi, and Nasarawa states