Police in Bayelsa arrest woman for allegedly trafficking in under-aged girls
[From CHRIS ONYEAMA, Yenagoa]
Bayelsa State Police Command has arrested a middle-aged businesswoman over alleged trafficking of two under-aged girls to Ghana for prostitution.
It was gathered that the suspect, Madam Florence Emeka was arrested at Twon-Brass in Brass Council Area of the State.
The victims identified as Nengi, 15, and Preye, 14, were reported to have been trafficked to Ghana early this year for prostitution.
While Nengi was said to have escaped from Ghana to Lagos with the help of some concerned Ghanaians who gave her transport fare that took her to Lagos, Preye is said to be stranded in Ghana with slim hope of returning to Nigeria.
The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Bayelsa State, Mr Asinim Butswat,who confirmed the arrest of the suspect said she would be transferred to Yenagoa for further investigation and possible prosecution.
Reacting to the incident, former chairman of the Bayelsa State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Comrade Tarinyo Akono called on the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) to join forces with the police to rescue Preye from her traffickers in Ghana.
He told parents to investigate the kind of people they send their children to live with notwithstanding if they were relatives or not.
