The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons on Thursday said it has detained a 61-year-old Civil Engineer and Lebanese national, Kfouri Sleiman, for being allegedly involved in the defilement of minors and using them for pornography in Jos, the Plateau State capital.

The agency’s Head of Press and Public Relations Unit, Stella Nezan, disclosed this in a statement titled ‘NAPTIP detains Lebanese national for alleged defilement of minors in Jos.’

According to the statement, the suspect is said to have lived in Nigeria for 38 years without any member of his family.

The statement read in part, “He is presently being interviewed by operatives of the agency at the Abuja headquarters after he was handed over by the Plateau State Command of the Nigerian Police.

“It will be recalled that following the unrest in Jos, the Plateau State capital last week based on allegations of defilement of 10 minors by Mr Suleiman and using them for pornographic activities, the Director-General of NAPTIP, Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, on Tuesday dispatched a crack team of investigators led by the agency’s Director of Investigation and Monitoring Mr Daniel Atokolo, to the state to join the NAPTIP office in Jos and other sister law enforcement agencies to carry out a thorough investigation on the matter.”

The statement quoted the Director-General as saying that the suspect was taken to Abuja in order to ensure a full investigation into the incident.

“I want to assure the parents of the victims and stakeholders that the matter will be handled with the desired attention in order to ensure that justice is adequately served.

“I want to use this opportunity to thank the Police in Plateau State and members of the Civil Society Organisation who provided the necessary intelligence and cooperation that led to the arrest of the suspect,” the NAPTIP Director-General said. (The PUNCH)

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