ACF seeks probe of Kano children abduction

The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has called on the security agencies to conduct a thorough investigation into the recent discovery of nine Kano State children that were kidnapped and sold in Anambra State.

In a statement issued yesterday and signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Mohammed Ibrahim Biu, the ACF described the incident in which some of the children were said to have been converted to other faiths with their names changed as “most shocking and worrisome”.

The forum commended the government and people of Kano State for their maturity and calmness in handling the unfortunate incident.

It, however, urged Nigerians to cooperate with the security agencies by exposing the criminals in their midst who did not wish the country well through effective intelligence sharing among intelligence community.

“Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) and in deed Nigerians are shocked and pained by the recent media reports of innocent children being kidnapped by some criminals in Kano State and sold for purposes of slavery and other inhuman activities in Anambra State.

“The media reports that the abducted children are being converted to other faiths and given different identities other than their original faiths and names.

“This new dimension to the crime of kidnapping is most worrisome and disturbing. Most worrisome is the confession of one of the arrested suspects that he has been in the business of child abduction for about five years, and that it is only now that nemesis has caught up with him. That means many innocent children must have been kidnapped and sold over the years.

“ACF, therefore, condemns these unwarranted and unbridled kidnappings of innocent children from Kano and other parts of the country by these criminals who hide under religion and ethnicity to perpetrate these heinous crimes against humanity.

“This is a serious challenge to government, the police and other security agencies to thoroughly investigate this new trend of crime as it is most barbaric, wicked and unacceptable.

“ACF commends the efforts of the Kano Police Command for their professional action in arresting those alleged to be behind this heinous crime and urges them to dig further into the motives and those behind the abduction,as well as to ensure that no matter their status they should be brought to justice,” the statement also read.