The Benue State House of Assembly has raised alarm over the alleged trafficking of more than 400 children from the state to an orphanage in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), demanding urgent action to locate and rescue them.
The concern followed a motion by Peter Uche (APC/Guma) during plenary in Makurdi, where he cited reports that the children were taken to Divine Hope Orphanage for the Less Privileged in Kagini, Bwari Area Council.
Uche described the development as disturbing, noting that years of attacks by armed herdsmen in several Benue communities have displaced families and left many children vulnerable to exploitation and trafficking.
He referenced a February 2026 NTA report alleging that the children were moved to the orphanage and that some had their names changed without the consent of parents or guardians. According to him, authorities in Bwari also revealed that the orphanage proprietor, Ebele Chibuzor, and the children cannot currently be located, while three deaths have already been recorded among them.
Lawmakers also expressed frustration that efforts to involve the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) had yet to yield results.
Speaker Alfred Emberga directed the clerk of the assembly to write to the Benue Ministry of Women Affairs to set up a committee to raise public awareness, especially among internally displaced persons (IDPs), about the dangers of handing children to unknown individuals.
The assembly also urged NAPTIP to intensify efforts to trace and rescue the missing children and reunite them with their families.
Leave a comment