Operatives of the Nigeria Police Force at Funbi-Fagun
division in Ondo town have arrested a couple, Ayobami and Mujidat Wahab
with two other women over alleged child trafficking.
According to the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in charge of the
station, Olu-Ojo Ogunmoyole, the suspects who specialized in street
begging are indigenes of Ibadan,Oyo State.
They were arrested alongside five under-aged pupils who are between
eight and 10 years at various locations in the community following a
complaint by the residents of the area.
The police chief said the suspects who always pretended as if they
were blind always moved about with the pupils, begging for alms on a
daily basis.
In their confessional statements, one of the suspects, who gave her
name as Folasade Iyiola, said she relocated from Ibadan to Ondo town
recently to continue with her street begging.
Folasade admitted that she is a victim of circumstances,adding that
she left Ibadan with two of the pupils in different locations without
the knowledge of their parents.
The suspect explained that she had been in the business for over three years, until he was arrested by the police.
Her words: “I was introduced to the begging business by one Mujidat
who is one of the suspects when we met at the Central Mosque in Ibadan
and told me if she could get under-aged pupils that would be used for
the business, after which I helped her to get two pupils before I later
joined her in Ondo for the business.”
One of the pupils,Ibrahim, said he was a primary six pupils in
Ibadan, stressing that he was in the midst of his colleagues during the
celebration of last Ileya festival when he was picked by one Mrs Mujidat
who brought her to Ondo.
The DPO said the suspects would be transferred with the pupils to the
State police command headquarters in Akure for further investigation on
the matter.
