The National Agency for the Prohibition of Traff!cking in Persons (NAPTIP) has accused three workers of allegedly attempting to traff!c their employer’s two-year-old child in Ogoja, Cross River State.

Oba Joseph, Head of Operations of the NAPTIP Cross River Command, disclosed the development in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Calabar on Thursday, August 27.

According to Joseph, the agency received a report on Monday concerning an incident in Ogberia Ochoro community, where three suspects allegedly took the child and attempted to transport him to another location for sale.

He said the suspects claimed they had worked for their employer for approximately three months without receiving their wages.

“They claimed they decided to traffic the child as revenge and to recover the money they said they were owed,” Mr Joseph said.

However, the NAPTIP official said the employer disputed the allegation, insisting that he had paid the workers and only owed them wages for August, which had not yet ended.

Joseph explained that the suspects were eventually apprehended after a farmer returning from the farm noticed them behaving suspiciously while carrying the child.

“The farmer questioned them, after which one of the suspects allegedly claimed that the two-year-old child was his own.

“The farmer who was not satisfied with their explanation raised an alarm, leading to the suspects’ arrest after they had crossed about four communities,” he narrated.

Joseph said investigations were still ongoing and that the agency would prosecute the suspects after concluding its investigation.

He noted that one of the issues being investigated is the discrepancy in the suspects’ ages. While community records reportedly listed them as 18, 19 and 27 years old, the suspects allegedly told NAPTIP that they were 16, 17 and 25.

The agency has therefore sought the assistance of their parents to establish their actual ages.

Joseph explained that if the suspects are confirmed to be minors, they could be treated as children in conflict with the law, which may affect how the court handles the case.

He stressed, however, that regardless of their actual ages, the alleged attempted trafficking of the two-year-old child remained a serious matter, while the ongoing investigation would determine the appropriate prosecution process.