The Kaduna State government has rescued 13 children who were allegedly trafficked out of the state by a syndicate operating across several regions of Nigeria.

Speaking to journalists on Saturday, the Commissioner for Human Services and Social Development, Hajiya Rabi Salisu, revealed that the children were initially taken from Kaduna to Abuja and then moved to Enugu by the traffickers.

“One of the abducted children was stolen when the child was seven days old and now, that same child is seven-years-old,” she disclosed.

“The children cannot identify their locations, but the authorities will do everything humanly possible to ensure that all the children are reunited with their family members.”

The commissioner added that the identities of the children were tampered with by the traffickers to conceal their origins.

“All of them have their names changed from Hausa to other names. Those brought to Kaduna are under the special intervention and emergency support of the government under the ministry’s facility to provide psychosocial counselling and support, nutritional food, medical care, and rehabilitation,” she said.

Giving more insight, Salisu said 11 of the children were received from the Kaduna State Police Command on March 24, 2025, after arrests were made in connection with the case.

“Upon review of the situation in one of the scenarios after the arrest made, on 24th March, 2025, the ministry received 11 children from the office of the state Commissioner of Police from Abuja.”

She further explained that five members of the gang revealed that their ringleader runs an orphanage in Abuja used as a front for trafficking.

“She uses her orphanage as temporary shelter for the stolen children and negotiates for their sale to prospective buyers in the eastern part of the country,” Salisu explained.

“This evil act is so alarming that all the children found and brought back have lost their identities so much that they can’t remember their original homes.”

According to her, seven more children were handed over to the ministry on April 9, 2025, and six others were returned from Birnin Kebbi. These six were allegedly trafficked to a woman known as “Maman Salamatu” in Calabar, though her real name has been withheld due to the ongoing investigation.

The commissioner called on parents searching for missing children to come forward with relevant evidence.

“We call on parents, who lost their children and are searching for them, to come forward with concrete evidence including proof of birth, and other relevant information.”

She urged parents to be vigilant and instill good morals in their children to prevent abuse and exploitation.

“Parents must be vigilant, imbibe the culture of good parenting, and nurture their children with good moral upbringing to protect them against all forms of abuse, violence and exploitation.”

Ali Adamu, a parent whose daughter, Maryam, was abducted two months ago in Kogi State and recently rescued, expressed gratitude.

“I thank the ministry and all other government agencies for reuniting me with my daughter,” he said.

“I call on parents to be watchful over their children so they do not go through the trauma of losing a child.”

Emmanuel Shior, the immediate past Executive Secretary of the Benue State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), has faulted the claims by Governor Hyacinth Alia that his administration did not inherit any data on the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) within the state.

In a statement made available to journalists in Makurdi, Dr. Shior expressed concern over the governor’s assertion, questioning whether the administration also lacks data on the Cameroonian refugees that the state is currently hosting.

He emphasized the importance of accurate data in addressing the humanitarian crisis stemming from escalating insecurity in the state, which has resulted in a growing IDP population.

“Governor Alia’s claim is a misrepresentation of the facts. In my handover notes, I documented data indicating approximately two million IDPs and around ten thousand Cameroonian refugees in Benue State,” Dr. Shior stated.

The former Executive Secretary of Benue SEMA, who is a lecturer at the Federal University of Lafia, emphasized that the previous administration established strategic partnerships and conducted symposiums aimed at generating reliable data for effective IDP management.

This collaborative effort, he said, included partnerships with various national and international organizations such as NEMA, UNHCR, and UNICEF, culminating in the creation of the Benue State Humanitarian Response Plan.

Shior noted that Governor Alia had previously acknowledged the same data in media presentations and discussions with humanitarian partners and wondered why the governor has suddenly turned around to speak in a contradictory tone.

“What is particularly ironic is that while the governor claims to have improved conditions for IDPs, new camps are being established without adequate provisions for their welfare,” he said.

The visit took place hours after former vice president Atiku Abubakar led the People’s Democratic Party delegation on a courtesy call to the former president.

In a retaliatory move, the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Abdullahi Ganduje, on Friday, led members of the party’s National Working Committee on a visit to former President Muhammadu Buhari at his residence in Kaduna State.

The visit took place hours after former vice president Atiku Abubakar led the People’s Democratic Party delegation on a courtesy call to the former president.

The delegation included former Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir el-Rufai; former governor of Sokoto, Aminu Tambuwal, former governor of Imo State, Achike Udenwa; former governor of Benue, Gabriel Suswam; former governor of Adamawa, Jibrilla Bindow; former Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, and former Minister of Communications, Isa Pantami.

Speaking with reporters after the meeting, El-Rufai said the visit to the former president was not political and asked “adversaries” not to lose sleep.

The former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory added that the visit was for “unity and brotherhood”.

The outcome of the APC NWC’s visit remains unknown; there have been speculations of disunity in the party, as some members of its members recently defected to the Social Democratic Party.

Atiku also cleared the air on Friday, saying that the visit was for the Sallah celebration as against speculated coalition talks.

In a post on his official X handle, Atiku wrote, “As the Waziri Adamawa, I was obligated to be in Adamawa during the Sallah celebrations. I held forth for the Lamido Fombina (Adamawa) in some of the activities of the Sallah celebrations. Today, I had the opportunity to pay a post-Sallah visit to His Excellency, Muhammadu Buhari, President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 2015-2023. It was a wonderful time with him. As usual, he cracked me up (to the extent that my ribs were hurting) with his peculiar humour.”