By NICHOLAS DECHI

The Benue State House of Assembly has condemned the alleged trafficking of more than 400 children of the state origin to an orphanage in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

The assembly called for urgent government intervention to rescue and reunite the children with their families.

The call followed a motion moved by Mr Peter Uche (APC/Guma) during the plenary on Monday in Makurdi.

Uche expressed concern over reports that the children were moved to Divine Hope Orphanage for the Less Privilege in Kagini, Bwari Area Council of the FCT.

He said that the situation was alarming and required urgent action from the state government and relevant agencies.

He noted that for more than 15 years, several local government areas in Benue had been under severe attacks by armed herdsmen, leading to the destruction of homes, farmlands and economic activities.

"The attacks had resulted in the displacement of entire communities, leaving many children, youths and elderly persons vulnerable to exploitation, abuse and trafficking,’’ Uche said.

The lawmaker informed the house that a report aired by Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) in February, 2026, alleged that over 400 children from Benue were illegally trafficked to the orphanage located in Kagini, Bwari Area Council, Abuja.

He further alleged that the children’s names were arbitrarily changed without the consent of their parents or guardians.

Uche said that the Child Development Department of the Women Affairs Secretariat in Bwari Area Council had also disclosed on NTA that the whereabouts of the orphanage proprietor, Ebele Chibuzor, and the children were currently unknown.

He expressed worry that attempts to get intervention from the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) at both state and national levels had not produced results.

He added that three deaths had already been recorded among the children.

In his remarks, the Majority Leader, Mr Thomas Dugeri (APC/Kwande West), said that Benue had one of the highest numbers of rescued trafficked victims in the country.

He called for strengthened operations of the state Ministry of Women Affairs to curb trafficking and urged authorities to address the root causes of the problem.

Also speaking, Mr Douglas Akya (APC/Makurdi South) said that poverty and insecurity had worsened the vulnerability of families in the state.

He noted that while Nigeria had strong legal frameworks against human trafficking, the major challenge remained effective implementation.

Similarly, Mr Emmanuel Onah (PDP/Oju) said that youths in Oju local government had formed a task force that searched vehicles leaving the town on every market day to ensure that children were not trafficked.

In his remarks, the Speaker of the assembly, Mr Alfred Emberga, directed the Clerk of the house, Dr Bem Mela, to write to the ministry of women affairs to constitute a committee to sensitise the public.

He said that the residents of internally displaced persons’ camps should be sensitised on the dangers of giving their children to unknown persons.

He also called NAPTIP to intensify efforts to locate and rescue the missing children. (NAN)