NSCDC And Benue’s Bestial Father

Recently, the Abuja Command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) paraded a 42-year-old father, born in Benue, Chinana Telpesa-Tali, for attempting to sell his eight-year-old son, Ushafa Chiana-Tali.

The bestial father was arrested by undercover personnel of the Corps while perfecting plans to sell the male child and a female, which he described as a ‘he goat’ and a ‘she goat’, for N20 million and N15 million, respectively.

The FCT commandant of the NSCDC, Olusola Odumosu, stated that one of his men posed as a buyer for the agreed sum and contacted the middleman, a 29-year-old Pius Aondoakaa, who explained that the father of the child had earlier rejected a N12 million offer because he wanted to use the money to train his remaining children but was also willing to sell another child, a female.

Telpesa-Tali’s reason for wanting to sell the boy to raise money to train his other children is the most savage excuse one can ever give for indulging in such a crime against humanity. It is true that parents and guardians are facing difficult times in this era of skyrocketing prices of foodstuff, increases in rent, school fees, cost of drugs, and other basics of life, all aggravated by the government’s tough and, we dare say, thoughtless economic policies.

But are these enough reasons for one to contemplate selling his child? Certainly not. Had the men of the NSCDC not intervened and intercepted this evil transaction, the little child would have been sold into either a life of perpetual slavery or, in the worst-case scenario, serve as a ready tool for ritual killers.

Interestingly, both the seller and the middleman, who are from Abeda Mbadyul in the Logo council area of Benue State, have been arrested and handed over to the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) for prosecution. Clearly, this bestial father loses the right to custody of 8-year-old Ushafa. The fitting thing is for either the Benue State government or NAPTIP to provide the child with all the care he requires to grow into adulthood.

It is a given that Telpesa-Tali does not in any way represent responsible fatherhood and is, in fact, an embarrassment to what parenthood entails. For this, he deserves a special place in our correctional centres where he should be kept with hard labour and made to know that what we all owe children is the right to means for their development and special help in times of need.

It is true that the Nigerian government has not done enough in engendering child survival for development, and this is reflected in the fact that the nation has close to twenty million children not attending school, out of which some are serving as domestic helps while others roam the streets and are easy prey for ritualists.

There is no contesting the fact that children, women, and other vulnerable groups bear the brunt of the current threats to security of lives and property, which have continued to assume a worrisome dimension in different parts of the country.

By and large, the intractable nature of the current security situation demonstrates clearly that the nation has a long way to go as far as addressing the challenges confronting children, especially, is concerned.

As a nation that is a signatory to the convention on the rights of the child, for which about 34 out of the 36 states have domesticated the Child Rights Act, Nigeria cannot afford to display scant regard for the well-being of children.

However, while urging the government to rethink its child survival strategies, we believe that the nation is in need of stiffer laws that will penalize irresponsible parents like Telpesa-Tali, who have elected to not only abandon their parental responsibilities but to take their callousness a notch higher by offering to sell their children.

Every child, aside from being a member of a family and community, has the rights to survival, development, protection, and participation, pure and simple.

We all must work towards ensuring that no matter the circumstances.

This newspaper therefore lauds the operatives of the NSCDC for the diligent manner in which they handled the intelligence and eventually nabbed this bestial father.

Beyond his arrest, concerted efforts must be made to ensure diligent prosecution of all those connected with this inhuman act.

Recently, the Abuja Command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) paraded a 42-year-old father, born in Benue, Chinana Telpesa-Tali, for attempting to sell his eight-year-old son, Ushafa Chiana-Tali.

The bestial father was arrested by undercover personnel of the Corps while perfecting plans to sell the male child and a female, which he described as a ‘he goat’ and a ‘she goat’, for N20 million and N15 million, respectively.

The FCT commandant of the NSCDC, Olusola Odumosu, stated that one of his men posed as a buyer for the agreed sum and contacted the middleman, a 29-year-old Pius Aondoakaa, who explained that the father of the child had earlier rejected a N12 million offer because he wanted to use the money to train his remaining children but was also willing to sell another child, a female.

Telpesa-Tali’s reason for wanting to sell the boy to raise money to train his other children is the most savage excuse one can ever give for indulging in such a crime against humanity. It is true that parents and guardians are facing difficult times in this era of skyrocketing prices of foodstuff, increases in rent, school fees, cost of drugs, and other basics of life, all aggravated by the government’s tough and, we dare say, thoughtless economic policies.

But are these enough reasons for one to contemplate selling his child? Certainly not. Had the men of the NSCDC not intervened and intercepted this evil transaction, the little child would have been sold into either a life of perpetual slavery or, in the worst-case scenario, serve as a ready tool for ritual killers.

Interestingly, both the seller and the middleman, who are from Abeda Mbadyul in the Logo council area of Benue State, have been arrested and handed over to the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) for prosecution. Clearly, this bestial father loses the right to custody of 8-year-old Ushafa. The fitting thing is for either the Benue State government or NAPTIP to provide the child with all the care he requires to grow into adulthood.

It is a given that Telpesa-Tali does not in any way represent responsible fatherhood and is, in fact, an embarrassment to what parenthood entails. For this, he deserves a special place in our correctional centres where he should be kept with hard labour and made to know that what we all owe children is the right to means for their development and special help in times of need.

It is true that the Nigerian government has not done enough in engendering child survival for development, and this is reflected in the fact that the nation has close to twenty million children not attending school, out of which some are serving as domestic helps while others roam the streets and are easy prey for ritualists.

There is no contesting the fact that children, women, and other vulnerable groups bear the brunt of the current threats to security of lives and property, which have continued to assume a worrisome dimension in different parts of the country.

By and large, the intractable nature of the current security situation demonstrates clearly that the nation has a long way to go as far as addressing the challenges confronting children, especially, is concerned.

As a nation that is a signatory to the convention on the rights of the child, for which about 34 out of the 36 states have domesticated the Child Rights Act, Nigeria cannot afford to display scant regard for the well-being of children.

However, while urging the government to rethink its child survival strategies, we believe that the nation is in need of stiffer laws that will penalize irresponsible parents like Telpesa-Tali, who have elected to not only abandon their parental responsibilities but to take their callousness a notch higher by offering to sell their children.

Every child, aside from being a member of a family and community, has the rights to survival, development, protection, and participation, pure and simple.

We all must work towards ensuring that no matter the circumstances.

This newspaper therefore lauds the operatives of the NSCDC for the diligent manner in which they handled the intelligence and eventually nabbed this bestial father.

Beyond his arrest, concerted efforts must be made to ensure diligent prosecution of all those connected with this inhuman act.