Operatives of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking In Persons have rescued a 12-year-old-girl who was allegedly forced into marrying a 50-year-old man in Makurdi, Benue State.
The development was confirmed by the NAPTIP Commander, Makurdi Zonal Command, Gloria Bai, on Wednesday.
This followed a revelation on Tuesday by a Facebook user, Lucky Iduh, and a follow up by Makurdi-based humanist, Ukan Kurugh.
Bai said these attracted NAPTIP, which immediately swung into action.
She said: “Yes we have rescued her.
“We got this report from a concerned citizen and contrary to the media report that NAPTIP was ‘slow and unenthusiastic,’ we swiftly went into action to search for the address where the girl was and when we got the address, we planned to go first thing in the morning so that we get both the man and the victim and by 6am, we were there.
“Unfortunately, the rain came in.
“We were able to rescue the girl but the man had gone out.
“We are on it and our officers are already on surveillance to get the man as soon as he is seen.
“The girl will also be taken to the hospital for medical examination and she will undergo proper counselling.
“We will see how she came to be in his house and if he has contravened the law, we will charge him to court.”
