An Abia-based rights group, the Centre for Human Rights Advocacy and Wholesome Society (CEHRAWS) has expressed grave concerns over credible allegations that organized child trafficking rings were importing minors into Abia for forced labour, hawking, sexual exploitation, and unlawful surrogacy.
The Executive Director of the CEHRAWS, Chuka Okoye, who expressed the concerns in a chat with our correspondent on Monday, to mark the World Day for Child Protection Professionals, said the development is in gross contravention of extant legal safeguards.
These safeguards include the Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Enforcement and Administration Act, 2015 (“NAPTIP Act”), the Child Rights Act, 2003 (as domesticated in Abia State), and the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Law of Abia State, which criminalizes all forms of violence and exploitation, including those targeting minors and vulnerable women.
The global celebration is an occasion dedicated to recognizing the sacrifice, resilience, and frontline contributions of child protection professionals and responders across the globe, including social workers, case managers, child rights monitors, juvenile justice officials, medical responders, psychologists, and law enforcement personnel.
These professionals, Okoye noted, daily confront the harrowing realities of child abuse, exploitation, neglect, and trafficking, often under severe resource constraints, policy inertia, and occupational trauma.
He regretted that despite their critical roles, these professionals face formidable structural challenges including insufficient funding, weak enforcement of legal frameworks, gaps in training, and a lack of coordinated support mechanisms.
According to him, in Abia State, these problems are further exacerbated by the persistent crisis of street children, particularly in urban centres such as Aba and Umuahia, where large numbers of vulnerable minors, some reportedly trafficked from other states, are found begging, hawking, and exposed to criminal syndicates.
Acknowledging the transformative leadership of Governor Alex Otti in revamping Abia’s physical and economic architecture, Okoye insisted that true and sustainable development must extend beyond infrastructure to encompass human capital and social protection, particularly for the state’s most vulnerable citizens, the children.
The CEHRAWS boss urged the Governor to reinforce the State’s child protection mandate by activating a Special Multi-Sectoral Task Force to conduct periodic rescue operations and rehabilitation campaigns targeting street children, especially in Aba and Umuahia.
He also advocated for the implementation of a Statewide Child Protection Action Plan, with defined milestones, timelines, and performance indicators, supported by adequate budgetary provisions.
“We call for the strengthening of coordination between the Ministry of Women Affairs, the State Police Command, Social Welfare Officers, and NAPTIP’s Abia office to curb trafficking, forced labour, child hawking, and other exploitative practices.
“There is the need to ensure the operationalization and rigorous enforcement of the Child Rights Law and the VAPP Law, including the prosecution of offenders under Sections 21, 22, 25, and 27 of the NAPTIP Act, and possibly, the scaling up of partnership and support for frontline child protection workers, including capacity building, and state shields in the discharge of their duties,” he demanded.
On the global day, Okoye asked the government to go beyond ceremonial recognition and translate appreciation into actionable protection for the children., adding that Abia State’s remarkable infrastructural renewal must be matched by a legacy of human dignity, child safety, and zero tolerance for abuse and exploitation.
