The Adamawa State Government has reunited 14 children with their families after they were rescued from a child trafficking syndicate allegedly operated by an Igbo woman, Ngozi Abdulwahab.
Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri, represented by his deputy, Prof. Kaletapwa Farauta, handed over the children to their parents on Wednesday at the Government House in Yola.
According to the governor, security agencies uncovered the network following intelligence reports in July 2025 on a spate of missing children in the state.
The investigation, he said, led to the arrest of Abdulwahab, who allegedly lured the victims—mostly aged between four and nine years—before transporting them to the South-East where they were sold for between N800,000 and N1.7m each.
“The suspect perfected the art of trafficking minors from communities in Adamawa to other parts of the country, turning them into mere commodities,” Farauta said on behalf of the governor.
She disclosed that Abdulwahab ran the syndicate from a provision shop at Jambutu ward in Yola North Local Government Area, where she used snacks and gifts to trap unsuspecting children.
Describing the act as “monstrous and traumatic,” Farauta assured that those behind the crime would face prosecution under the Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Enforcement and Administration Act, 2015, the Adamawa State Child Protection Law, the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Law, 2021, and the Penal Code.
“We will not allow Adamawa to become a hub for child trafficking. We shall flush out the perpetrators, dismantle their networks, and ensure they pay the full price for their crime,” she vowed.
The governor also warned parents against negligence, stressing the need to stop sending children under the age of 10 to school or errands without adult supervision.
In his remarks, Fintiri expressed mixed feelings over the incident, noting that Adamawa had now “appeared on the map of an unfortunate monster that has been ravaging the nation.”
He added, “The message of this government to human traffickers is clear: Adamawa is the wrong place to come. Our citizens are our most cherished assets and must never be reduced to commodities of trade.”
To ease the families’ distress, the state government gave each of the 14 households N100,000 cash support, food items, and other materials to help them recover and set up small businesses.
Farauta further appealed to parents to take parenting more seriously, describing children as “sacred blessings from God,” while urging residents to report suspicious activities promptly to security agencies.