Organised criminal groups have started posing as civil society organisations, humanitarian workers and representatives of orphanage centres to exploit vulnerable families and gain access to children.
Saturday PUNCH gathered that the groups persuade parents to hand over their children, with some of the victims rescued from trafficking networks operating across several states.
In a recent report released on its website, the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons disclosed that it rescued over 180 children allegedly trafficked from five states by criminal groups operating under the guise of civil society organisations.
The agency said the groups had been deceiving parents in different communities by posing as representatives of CSOs before taking the children away under false pretences.
Similarly, the Oyo State Police Command also announced the rescue of 17 children from an interstate child-stealing and trafficking syndicate allegedly operating across Oyo, Ogun and Delta states.
