Security forces rescue two pregnant women, a nursing mother, and seven minors from human trafficking in Plateau.

Security operatives rescued two pregnant women, a nursing mother, and eight children from suspected human traffickers at a motor park in Zawan Junction, Jos South Local Government Area, Plateau State, on Thursday.

The victims were allegedly being trafficked to work in mining camps in Ibadan, Oyo State.

Olivia Dazyam, Special Adviser to Governor Caleb Mutfwang on Gender and Chairperson of the Plateau State Gender and Equal Opportunities Commission, confirmed the incident while briefing journalists at the Commission’s headquarters in Jos. She said three suspects were arrested during the operation, which she led after receiving credible information about a human‑trafficking syndicate operating at the illegal motor park.

Dazyam described the rescue as exposing a decade‑long trafficking operation that had quietly deprived the futures of many Plateau children and young women.

She explained that the Commission acted on a tip from a Zawan community member about an illegal park that operated only on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

“A member of the Zawan community drew our attention to what, according to him, looked like an illegal motor park,” Dazyam said. “He wanted to find out if we knew about the existence of that park, and he gave me the information that the park operates only on Thursdays and Tuesdays. He said that on Thursdays, the syndicate would convey passengers to a location in Ibadan and on Tuesdays, they would bring back some people into that park, and drop them there.”

During a discreet investigation, Dazyam’s agency discovered that the victims were usually children, some as young as 11, who were taken to mining sites and forced into hard labour.

She added that when her team visited the site, they found five vehicles loading passengers for what appeared to be a night journey.

“When we got to the illegal park, we discovered persons below 18 years who were about to travel. We were told that there is a mining pond in Ibadan, Oyo State, where the victims are being recruited to go and serve as labourers on those mining camps,” she said.

She explained that the conditions awaiting the victims amounted to bonded labour, as they are made to work six days for their handlers and keep only one day’s earnings for themselves.

“How are you working six days of your life for some people, then only one day is for you? It means that even if you remain in Plateau State, you can actually work for the seven days for yourself, and you will gain something,” she said.

“I understand from what the informant told me that it is a chain of beneficiaries from this. They have to share the money of their labor for other beneficiaries, and this is why it is exploitative,” Dazyam added.

“All of them were to be transported; they are not the ones to pay the transport fare. It is when they arrive, probably they are able to deliver them in Ibadan in the mining communities before they pay them.”

“A parent of the rescued victim got here and said he doesn’t know that two of his children are traveling. He doesn’t know, so what do you know about your children?” Dazyam asked.