Alimot Haruna, a 45-year-old individual, has been apprehended by the Lagos State Police Command on charges of smuggling 42 northern children into Lagos without parental consent. Authorities suspect that Haruna intended to subject these children to forced labor and human trafficking.
The incident reportedly took place on January 25 at around 5:45 pm. According to sources within the police, detectives monitoring Haruna’s movements rescued three underage children—two females and one male, whose name remains unconfirmed. It was revealed that the Kwara State Police Command had declared Haruna wanted in connection to multiple cases of missing underage children linked to her syndicate. The command’s anti-human trafficking unit has successfully recovered some of the children, with only 11 still missing.
“The suspect has been declared wanted by the Kwara State Command in connection to many underage children that have disappeared, which has been linked to her syndicate. The anti-human trafficking unit of the Kwara State Police Command was contacted and confirmed that they had recovered some of the remaining 11 children,” stated a police source. The suspect reportedly admitted guilt and provided information about the addresses where the children were kept, along with the names of their parents.
Benjamin Hudeyin, the state Public Relations Officer, assured the public that efforts were underway to rescue the remaining eight children. He stated, “Efforts are on to rescue the remaining eight children. Further developments shall be communicated.”
Last year, PUNCH Metro reported that the Kano State Police Command arrested nine suspects involved in inter-state trafficking, abduction, and the buying and selling of minors. The state police commissioner, Usaini Gumel, revealed that the suspects were apprehended following intelligence-led operations that identified and dismantled inter-state trafficking syndicates operating in Kano, Bauchi, Gombe, Lagos, Delta, Anambra, and Imo states.