The Osun State Amotekun Corps, said it arrested one Isaac Okonu for allegedly trafficking of five boys from Akwa Ibom to Osun as farm labourers.
A statement by Brig-Gen. Bashir Adewinmbi, Osun Amotekun Commander, on Saturday said the suspect was arrested after the vehicle driver that conveyed them from Akwa Ibom reported to Amotekun officers following his suspicious moves.
“The Corps on Thursday 29, 2024 by 6:45 pm arrested a young man, Isaac Okonu, 23, from Akwa Ibom State, for trafficking five boys to Ajebandele in Osun State without the consent of their parents,’’ Adewinbi said.
According to him, the suspect has confessed to have taken the boys from Akwa Ibom without the consent of their parents or relatives.
” I met boys at the motor park begging for money and I asked them if they would follow me to Lagos, to provide jobs for them.
“Subsequently I put them in the vehicle, without the consent of their parents or relatives, and moved them down to Osun State instead,” the suspect said.
The commander however, stated the boys were to be between the age of 10 and 23 years.
The victims said“ Mr Issac told us lie that he would take us to Lagos to provide jobs for us, unknown to us that he was taking us to Osun State to work on the farm.’’.
He said that the case had been transferred to the Headquarters of the National Agency for Prohibition on Trafficking in Person (NAPTIP) in Osogbo, for further investigation and prosecution.
