The Plateau State Anti-Human Trafficking Taskforce arrests 184 persons in coordinated overnight raids across Jos and surrounding communities, recording one of the state’s largest crackdowns on human trafficking, child prostitution, and related crimes.
According to Mediaplusng.com, the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Philemon Daffi, who chairs the state Anti-Human Trafficking Taskforce, announces the arrests while briefing journalists at the Ministry of Justice in Jos, describing the operation as a major breakthrough in the fight against modern-day slavery.
Daffi says the intelligence-driven operation runs late into the night and the early hours of Friday, with taskforce operatives carrying out simultaneous raids at multiple locations identified as trafficking hotspots. He explains that the strategy focuses on dismantling criminal networks while rescuing vulnerable persons held in exploitative conditions.
Mediaplusng.com reports that those arrested include three pregnant women, seven female minors, nine male minors, 41 adult women, and 123 adult men, bringing the total number of suspects in custody to 184. The Attorney-General confirms that all suspects are undergoing profiling, with prosecution to follow for those found culpable.
The Justice Commissioner describes the operation as the result of months of planning, training, and improved intelligence gathering. He says the taskforce now relies on data-driven strategies to outmaneuver trafficking syndicates that previously exploit enforcement gaps in the state.
Daffi states that the government no longer treats child prostitution as a social issue or vagrancy, stressing that it amounts to human trafficking and a serious violation of the Child’s Rights Law. He declares that any case involving a minor automatically qualifies as exploitation, regardless of claims of consent.
He warns adults who patronise minors that they will face strict punishment under the law, describing them as enablers of abuse and exploitation. According to him, the era of lenient penalties or fines for such offences is over in Plateau State.
As part of tougher enforcement, the Attorney-General announces the immediate implementation of a “seal, seize, and demolish” policy against properties used for human trafficking and child exploitation. He says any facility found harbouring minors for profit will be sealed, assets forfeited, and structures demolished where necessary.
The taskforce also raises concern over family complicity, warning that parents or relatives who traffic their own children or expose them to exploitation will be prosecuted. Daffi stresses that poverty cannot justify selling or abandoning children to criminal networks.
He adds that the state government is strengthening the taskforce through continuous training, better logistics, and rehabilitation plans for rescued victims, including psychosocial support and reintegration programmes.
Sending a strong message to traffickers, the Attorney-General says Plateau State is no longer a safe haven for criminal syndicates. He maintains that intensified raids and enforcement actions will continue across the state.
The government says the operation marks the beginning of sustained efforts to protect vulnerable persons, enforce the law without compromise, and restore Plateau State’s image as a safe and law-abiding society.
