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Police in Cross River State in south-eastern Nigeria have intercepted a cargo of some 40 children sold into slavery and bound for Idanre, Ondo State in the south-west, ‘The Guardian’ reported on Friday.
The children, aged between eight and 20 years, were rescued on Monday by the police anti-crime patrol team as they travelled by bus through Akwa Ibom State on their way to work on cocoa plantations and farms in Idanre, the daily said.
The children told the police they did not know their destination and, police command spokesman Joseph Eze said they had now been reunited with their parents. ‘The Guardian’ reported that the children were usually sold for between 15,000 and 20,000 naira (US $150 - US $200) to slave merchants and are sent mostly to Benin, and the states of Ondo, Ogun and Lagos.
This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions
