The Plateau State Government in a swift respond to the heart-breaking video that trended on the social media of Plateau under aged girls trafficked to Ghana for sexual exploitation has combated and turned the sorrowful reality into victory for the resilience of human spirit and the determination of good governance aimed at preserving human dignity inline with the time is now mantra
The State government in a resolute and steadfast effort led by Hon Mrs Caroline Panglang Dafur, the Commissioner for Women Affairs in Plateau State and Barr Olivia Dazyem, Chairperson Gender and Equal Opportunities Commission together with a team of passionate officials of Nigerian in Diaspora Commission, NIDCOM coordinated with international allies such as Ghana Security agencies and rescued the girls. The combined team executed the underground operation with clinical precision, which saw the descent of law enforcement upon the hideouts that housed innocent girls stripped of their choice and freedom.
The Commissioner whose staunched vows to defend and protect the child’s right is as fierce as the Nigerian sun and unyielding as the mighty Wase Rock defered her public holiday and immediately traveled to Lagos to receive the girls at the airport from NIDCOM and NAPTIP.
With the victims rescued, Hon Dafur’s steely gaze now turned towards a different adversary of negligence. While addressing the media in Jos upon heroic return with the girls, Hon Dafur, announced her determination to hold accountable not only the perpetrators but also those guilty of exposing their children to such treacherous fate through abandonment. She vowed that “we shall extend our reach and ensure that parents who, through negligence, place their children in harm’s way, understand the gravity of their abandonment of responsibility”
The Commissioner whose name evoked respect and a certain dread among traffickers vowed to leave no stone unturned, to pursue justice with ferocity unheard of, consequently had the cartels that trafficked the girls immediately arrested and cooling off in custody at the Plateau State Police Command for further interrogation and prosecution. The negligent parents were also invited and are in detention at the State CID for parental abandonment of responsibility
“This is totally unacceptable and we must put an end to this cartel of traffickers on the Plateau. His Excellency Barr. Caleb Manasseh Mutfwang has declared a state of Emergency on social welfare protection on the Plateau, and I must see to it that all those involved and are now in custody face the full wrath of the Law. We have the VAPP laws, child rights act on the Plateau and Government have invested a lot on its implementation and sensitization”
Her words echoed in the halls of justice, Hon Dafur declared “the parents will also face the law for neglecting their responsibility of not reporting the disappearance of their children, nor were the girls in school or learning any trade, it’s a clear case of abandonment of responsibility and it’s a crime under the VAPP laws”.
The Commissioner continued that “we already have a joint taskforce against trafficking on the Plateau, and we will ensure we change this ugly narrative”
She appealed to community, religious leaders and citizens to be “more vigilant and report any suspicious activities of traffickers to the Ministry of women affairs or the Plateau State gender commission”