The chairman of Bassa local government area of Plateau state, Hon. Sunday Riti, has received over 20 children trafficked from the area to the eastern, southern and western states of the country.
He said the council has topped the list of the local government areas in the state faced with the menace of child trafficking, hence the need for collaborative efforts to address the challenge.
Riti made this known during a media parley with journalists organised at the weekend by the Directorate of Research, Planning, and Media, held at the Council Chambers in Bassa local government secretariat.
The council boss maintained that the local government which was created in 1976 is clocking 40 years of existence but has suffered from years of neglect and deprivation.
He said this informed the concerted efforts by his administration to rebuild the local council area irrespective of religious, ethnic and political differences.
“Bassa is number 1 or 2 in the list of local governments with the highest cases of child trafficking. Just a few weeks ago, about 14 children were brought back to Bassa, the Council, in collaboration with the Gender and Equal Opportunities Commission, as well as the Ministry of Women Affairs.
“Most worrisome is that these children trafficked from Bassa had their identity changed by the traffickers. Most of these children were taken to Enugu, Port-Harcourt, Lagos, among other places, where their identities were changed.
“They changed their names and the children can’t speak our languages again; you will rather hear them speak Igbo language,” Riti lamented
He said the council will come up with a task force that will intensify efforts in tracking the harvesting of children by the traffickers as well as addressed the menace of children in mining with the aim of punishing the parents of those school children found at mining site.
While commenting on the bad road leading to the local government area, Riti maintained that contract litigation has affected the completion of the road for over decade putting the people in an unimaginable suffering over the years.
“When I came on board, I made enquiries on the issue of the road and I found out that the road starting from the Barrack’s junction through Bassa to Kaduna was awarded during Baba Jang’s time, but the contractor didn’t deliver. So, there was a litigation and that’s why you can see it is still the way it is
“But His Excellency Barr Caleb Manasseh Mutfwang has intervened and the matter has been resolved, so we are anticipating that work will kickstart again by the grace of God,” he stated
