Nigerians arrest suspected slave traders

NIGERIA: Nigerian police said yesterday that they had rescued 62 children from traffickers trying to sell them into slavery …

NIGERIA: Nigerian police said yesterday that they had rescued 62 children from traffickers trying to sell them into slavery or forced labour.

A spokesman said the boys and girls, aged between eight and 12 years, were intercepted in two separate operations in the southeastern Cross River state in the past two weeks. Two suspected traffickers were arrested and arraigned in court.

"The era of the slave trade is over. Anyone trying to make a living from child trafficking will be dealt with," said police spokesman Eze Ugonna.

Experts estimate that hundreds of thousands of children are bought and sold every year in Africa.

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"I don't know where they were taking me. My father said I should just follow them," said one of the rescued children, giving his name as Inan.

Police said one group of children was heading for the commercial hub of Lagos and the second for Ondo state, also in southwestern Nigeria.

"The parents actually believe that the children are better off working in Lagos or on the plantations," said Itoro Eze-Anaba of campaign group Legal Defence and Child Assistance.

Nigeria is Africa's most populous country and two-thirds of its 130 million people live on less than $1 a day.

Rights groups say children from rural families are taken to the cities to work as domestic servants, prostitutes, street hawkers and beggars. - (Reuters)