The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has rescued 15 minors allegedly trafficked from Nasarawa State and sold to buyers for N2 million each.

The NSCDC Public Relations Officer, Babawale Afolabi, disclosed this on Friday at a news briefing at the corps’ headquarters in Abuja.

Afolabi said the children were allegedly trafficked by a member of a syndicate who posed as an official of the National Council of Child Rights Advocate.

He said the suspect operated under the guise of running an NGO and orphanage programme known as the Back to School Project, using promises of free education to persuade less privileged parents to hand over their children.

“Under the guise of operating an NGO and orphanage programme called the Back to School Project, he lured willing, less privileged parents into releasing their children with promises of free education,” Afolabi said.

He said the Commandant General’s Special Intelligence Squad, led by Commander Dandaura Appollos, subsequently launched an operation to locate the children and their alleged buyers.

According to him, advanced field tracking, technical intelligence and multi-state tactical sweeps enabled the operatives to trace the buyers to different parts of the country.

Afolabi said 15 of the 16 children taken from Kama Madaki and Gudindi Mada communities in Kokona Local Government Area of Nasarawa were rescued during the operation.

He said three of the victims were recovered in Anambra, Imo and Enugu states, while the remaining 12 were rescued through coordinated operations along eastern transit routes.

The NSCDC spokesperson added that three suspected buyers, comprising one man and two women, had been arrested in connection with the case.

He said the corps maintained a zero-tolerance policy towards crime and human trafficking.

Afolabi assured that suspects found culpable would be prosecuted after the completion of investigations.

He also said the NSCDC would continue to use intelligence-led operations to disrupt human trafficking networks and protect vulnerable children from exploitation.