The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), the Kano Emirate Council and ethnic groups resident in the state have come together to put a stop to the abduction and sale of children.
Responding to the recent incident of recovery of abducted children made by the Kano Police State Command, the ACF organised a meeting of all stakeholders yesterday in Kano to proffer solution to the crime.
Speaking on behalf of the ACF, the chairman, Dr Goni Faruk Umar called on the Nigerian government, traditional institutions, security agencies, community leaders, judiciary and the legislature to put hands on deck to arrest the situation once and for all.
“We called for this stakeholders’ meeting to show our concern with the way children are abducted and sold in the state. Not even abducted, some were sold by their parents, some were sold by doctors in the hospital after delivery, as confirmed to us by the police commissioner when we paid him a visit.
“We visited the police commissioner and thanked him when he rescued eight children recently.
“The children were from Bauchi, they brought them to Kano, collaborated with ward heads to give them certificates of birth, backdated it and then sold them to the children.
“One of them who bought a child at N480,000 was arrested and the police commissioner told us that she said she bought the child because in the Igbo culture, if you don’t have a male child you will not inherit your husband.
“That was the purpose and similar others, not that they are using the child for rituals.
“We are concerned with the situation that is why we called the Igbo leaders and other stakeholders to this conference. There is also the issue of drug abuse associated with Sabon Gari, we are not just getting them to condemn the situation, but to also work with them in fighting the menace,” the ACF leader stated.
The representative of the Igbo Community, Chief Uwaimo Ifeanyi who represented Igwe Igbokwe of Kano condemned the act and called for the wrath of the law on the perpetrators.
“We received with shock and disbelief the abduction of children that were recovered by the police in Kano. We condemn this criminal act in its entirety.
“We call on the law to deal with the perpetrators as we dissociate with the act and remain law-abiding,” he stated.
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