44 Trafficked Victims Rescued In Anambra In 2023 – NAPTIP Reveals

According to the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), a total of 41 individuals who had been trafficked were rescued in the year 2023, and 18 suspected traffickers were arrested in Anambra State.

The Public Relations Officer of the agency in the state, Anthony Okafor, revealed this information during an interview with journalists in Awka on Friday, Naija News understands.

Throughout the year, a total of 25 cases of human trafficking were reported to NAPTIP. Among these cases, seven are currently undergoing prosecution, while 17 others remain under investigation. Although no convictions were obtained for suspects on trial in 2023.

Okafor urged citizens to promptly report any suspicious activities to NAPTIP, emphasizing that the agency will take appropriate action.

Okafor said: “We encourage the public to always report cases of human trafficking to NAPTIP, and such cases will be handled professionally while the offenders are diligently prosecuted.

“What we expect from the citizenry is a prompt reporting of cases when they happen, in line with the slogan that says when you see something, you say something.”

Court Remands Fake Doctor For Allegedly Drowning Day-Old-Baby In Oyo

Meanwhile, an Ibadan Family Court in Iyaganku has jailed a 50-year-old phoney doctor, Olarewaju Oludele, for allegedly causing the death of a baby boy.

Naija News reports that Oludele, the fake doctor, was remanded at the Agodi Correctional Centre for drowning the baby in a canal.

The magistrate, Mrs. O. O. Ogunkanmi, who forwarded the case file to the Oyo State Directorate of Public Prosecution for legal counsel, rejected Oludele’s lack of jurisdiction plea.

Oludele was charged with three counts of impersonation, kidnapping, and murder by the police.

The court was previously told by the prosecutor, Inspector Gbemisola Adedeji, that Oludele committed the crime on December 28, 2023, at His Mercy Hospital in Akinyele, Ibadan.

She claimed that the fake doctor had taken the newborn kid from his mother in the hospital and drowned him in a canal without getting her permission.

Additionally, Adedeji testified in court that Oludele had misrepresented himself to the mother as a medical professional in order to deceive both her and other members of the public.

She claimed that the offences violated Oyo State’s 2000 Criminal Codes, which carried penalties of three years in jail for impersonation, fourteen years for kidnapping, and the death penalty for murder.

She, however, adjourned the matter till March 4 for mention.