Security agencies in Plateau State have broken a child trafficking gang that poses as evangelists.
This followed the arrest of five people for trafficking and selling of children.
Those arrested included Pastor Di Bernard, the head of the “End Time Army Ministry” in Bukuru, Plateau State.
Other individuals apprehended are Peter (a male), Namman Pel (a female), Victoria Ugu (a female), and R. Au (a female from Karu, Abuja).
According to a recent report by Symfoni TV, the gang specialised in kidnapping children and selling them for between N350,000 and N750,000 to members of the public.
However, five children between the ages of two and four were rescued on December 2, 2024, through an intelligence-led operation carried out by the law enforcement agencies.
The kids were said to have been kidnapped from Jos and other places in Plateau State.
During interrogations, the suspects provided information about the operations of the trafficking network.
Pastor Di Bernard confessed that he had been using his position as an evangelist to deceive parents into handing over their children.
“I went to Quanpan District in Plateau State under the disguise of evangelism, I told the parents that I had an NGO offering sponsorship for education, from primary school all the way to higher institutions.”
The investigation showed that between April and November 2024, Pastor Di Bernard had worked with R. Au to abduct no fewer than eight children from different communities in the Kanke and Bassa Local Government Areas of Plateau State.
The children were then sold to buyers in various states, including Plateau, Abia, Enugu, and Lagos, at prices ranging from N350,000 to N750,000 per child.
The children were sold under the guise of adoption, with the buyers subsequently changing the children’s names. Law enforcement agencies have so far successfully rescued 13 children, aged between two and ten years.
The children were returned to their families through the efforts of the Plateau State Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development.
“This case is so pathetic, young children are being traded by certain individuals,” an official involved in the investigation remarked.