Eight children, two pregnant women and a nursing mother were among 11 victims rescued from suspected human traffickers at an illegal motor park in Zawan Junction, Jos South Local Government Area of Plateau State, where victims were allegedly being ferried to mining camps in Ibadan, Oyo State.
The rescue, which also led to the arrest of 14 persons, including three suspected traffickers, has exposed what officials describe as a decade-long trafficking operation that had quietly consumed the futures of scores of Plateau children and young women.
Special Adviser to Governor Caleb Mutfwang on Gender and Chairperson of the Plateau State Gender and Equal Opportunities Commission, Olivia Dazyam, who led the operation, said the rescued minors were being recruited as labourers for mining ponds in Ibadan under conditions she described as exploitative.
“We have discovered that some of them are young children, persons below 18 years who are about to travel, where we are told that there is a mining pond… these people are being recruited to go and serve as labourers on those mining camps,” she said.
The conditions awaiting the victims, according to Dazyam, amounted to bonded labour.
“Victims worked six days for their handlers and kept only one day’s earnings for themselves. How are you working six days of your life for some people, then only one day is for you? It means that even if you remain in Plateau State, you can actually work for the seven days for yourself, and you will gain something,” she said.
Dazyam added that the arrangement involved a chain of beneficiaries sharing in the proceeds of the victims’ labour.
“I understand from what the informant told me, is a chain of beneficiaries from this… they have to share the money of their labor for other beneficiaries, and this is why it is exploitative.
“All of them were to be transported, they are not the ones to pay the transport fare. It is when they arrive, probably they are able to deliver them in Ibadan in the mining communities before they pay them.
“A parent of the rescued victim got here and said he doesn’t know that two of his children are traveling. He doesn’t know, so what do you know about your children?” Dazyam said.
She described the broader picture as a quiet crisis hollowing out Plateau’s population, saying, “I learnt that there is a huge Plateau community in that Ibadan community… with young children, under no form of protection… We are losing our future by the day.”
The illegal park, which operated only on Tuesdays and Thursdays to evade detection, had reportedly been running for nearly 10 years before a community member in Zawan alerted the Commission.
“A member of the Zawan community drew our attention to what, according to him, looked like an illegal motor park… the park operates only on Thursdays and Tuesdays. Thursdays, they would convey passengers to a location in Ibadan… Tuesday, they will now bring back some people into that park, and drop them there,” Dazyam said.
On visiting the site, she found five vehicles loading passengers for what appeared to be a night journey. After confirming with the Commissioner for Transport and the Nigerian Union of Road Transport Workers that the park had no legal backing, security operatives were alerted and the arrests followed.
One of the three suspected traffickers, Emmanuel Dauda, told journalists he was involved in the mining business to earn a living.
Asked why he did not engage in mining activities within Plateau State, which is known for mining, Dauda said, “I do not know or have anyone to engage me.”
The chairman of the Nigerian Union of Road Transport Workers confirmed that registered parks do not permit transporters to move minors.
“They won’t allow you… because they know they park minors, they will stay somewhere under one big tree in a corner, that’s the location in Zawan,” Dazyam said, quoting the chairman.
Dazyam called on residents to report suspicious parks and urged parents to take greater responsibility for their children’s whereabouts.
“If you see any illegal park, just branch there and suspect you’re likely to see a minor that is about to be put on the bus, raise questions, ask questions… see something, say something, do something, and the matters will be sorted out,” she said.