Child Trafficking: Plateau Goes Tough, Signs MoU to Create Digital Identity of Children in Orphanages

Seriki Adinoyi in Jos

The Plateau State Government on Monday threatened crackdown on persons engaged in child trafficking in the state.
The state government also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with an international Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), Both Ends Believing (BEB), and Association of Orphanages and Home Operators in Nigeria (ASOHON), to create digital identity of children in orphanages in the state.

The state government, through its Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development signed the MoU aimed at supporting the process of finding permanent, safe and loving families for children in orphanages.
BEB is a global non-profit that leverages a one-of-a-kind technology, Children First Software (CFS), to help children living in institutions unite with loving families.

Through Children First Software, BEB empowers government authorities to move vulnerable children to their best future, giving them a chance to grow and flourish in a loving family. The NGO also donated a laboratory which would track activities of orphanages in the state.
Speaking at the occasion, Governor Caleb Mutfwang of Plateau State said: “With the signing of this MoU, we can track down and know the number of our children in the orphanages.”

Represented by the State Commissioner for Women Affairs, Hon. Caroline Panglang Dafur, the governor said that the state would also track down operatives of fake orphanages operating on the Plateau.

He said: “We would prosecute anyone who is discovered to be involved in child trafficking in any of the state’s 17 local government areas. Many of our children are being taken out of the state; there is a cartel in Plateau State that links up with parents to traffic children to other parts of the country.

“This, we would not tolerate. As a government, we would continue to educate our people on the need for them to train their children.”
The governor also restated his administration’s commitment to prioritizing the rights, welfare, education, security, and safety of children in the state.

He said: “We are focused on protecting the rights of every child and making sure children of school age have access to quality basic education, which will inspire them to express their creativity in science, technology, art, and music, and make their voices heard in the society.

“Children are an essential part of our society. Without them, there will not be transition to a greater tomorrow. We are therefore, committed to ensuring that their rights, which are fundamental to my administration, are protected.

“Our administration has made it a point of duty to commit to the education, welfare, safety and rights of our children. As a government we are working hard to tackle challenges confronting vulnerable children in our state.”

The governor lauded the NGO for partnering the state, stressing that children in orphanages deserve care and safe homes. “We would continue to partner with agencies that would bring development to our people,” he added.
President of Both Ends Believing (BEB), Mr. Bruce Graham lauded the state government for its desire to better the lives of vulnerable children in the state.

Also commending the state government for the partnership, Graham said: “Our goal is for children to be integrated into safe and loving families. We work to create digital profiles of children living in institutions around the world.”
President of ASOHON, Dr.  Gabriel Oyedeji, said the signing of the MoU by the Plateau State Government and Both Ends Believing (BEB) is the beginning of a new dawn, adding that “we can now comfortably track down our orphanages as well as unregistered, closed down and non-existing homes, and this will go a long way to escalate trust.”

He lauded the efforts of his deputy, Mrs. Sandra Chikan, for making the signing of the MoU a reality.