Members of Rapid Response Squad 74 under the jurisdiction of the Federal Capital Territory Police Command have apprehended Pastor Simon Kado, his relative Jesse Simon-Kado, and their driver Muhammad Isah on charges of child trafficking.
They were busted on Friday while trafficking 12 underage children—eight girls and four boys aged between five to 16 years, from Nasarawa State to Ogun State.
The FCT Police Public Relations Officer, SP Josephine Adeh, made the development known in a statement on Saturday.
Adah said, “Operatives of the FCT Police Command attached to the Rapid Response Squad 74, on Friday, February 9, at about 12:55 am, intercepted one Muhammad Isah, male, of Kafanchan, Kaduna State, in a Toyota Hiace bus with Reg No. APP 489 XE, conveying twelve; four male and eight female; underaged children to a destination later discovered to be in Ogun State.
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“Preliminary investigation revealed that the children, whose ages are between five and 16 years, all from Akwanga LGA, Nasarawa State, were being trafficked to Ogun State by Pastor Simon Kado, a male, and Jesse Simon-Kado, a male, who are now presently in police custody.
“While the investigation is ongoing and efforts are underway with Nasarawa State Police Command on how to reunite victims with their respective families, the Commissioner of Police FCT, Benneth Igweh, wishes to reiterate that the safety of residents remains his utmost priority.”
The FCT has been experiencing a surge in kidnappings and bandit attacks lately.
In January 2024, operatives of the Special Intervention Squad, Federal Capital Territory Police Command, neutralised three notorious bandits in a forest within the Bwari area of Abuja.
Within the same month, a kidnap kingpin identified as Janari, who was said to have masterminded several kidnappings within Kaduna State and Abuja, along with some of his foot soldiers, were killed during operations conducted by the air component of Operation Whirl Punch in Kaduna State.
