The Ghana Immigration Service has rescued 42
children who were being trafficked to Nigeria
from Tatale and its surrounding communities in
the Northern region. The children were aged
between 10 and 17 years.
Two persons were arrested over the crime. The
suspects identified as Paul Waabem, 24 a
Ghanaian from Tatale, resident in Nigeria, and
Moses Yaw Kumah, 27, a Togolese, who also
lives in Nigeria were remanded in prison custody
and reappeared in court yesterday, February 23,
2016. Thirty-three of the children were rescued
first and nine others later.
The Northern Regional Commander of the Ghana
Immigration Service (GIS), Assistant Director of
Immigration (ADI), Mr Eric Afari,(pictured) who
disclosed this in Tamale on Saturday, February
20, said the command had intensified its border
patrols in the eastern corridor of the Northern
Region to clamp down on the activities of child
traffickers.
He said child trafficking was on the ascendency
in the area and, therefore, appealed to residents
in the area to assist the service with credible
information to track down child traffickers in the
area.
Afari was speaking during the visit of members
of the GIS Board. The team was led by its
chairman, Mr Cletus Avoka (pictured) Members
of the GIS board interacted with officers and
men of the service in the Northern Region to
know their operational challenges and how best
they could be resolved.
Mr Afari said the command faced a lot of
logistical constraints, including means of
transport, the problems of inadequate number of
offices and lack of residential accommodation,
which together are hampering their operations in
the region.
Increase in approved routes.
He called for an increase in the approved routes
in the area since the stretch from Oti-Damanko
to Nakpanduri was a ‘weak link’ because there
were only three officially gazetted entry points
which were outnumbered by the unapproved
crossing points on the stretch. The stretch
constituted the gateway to the inflow of criminal
elements, Fulani herdsmen, arms proliferation
and the smuggling of contrabands.
The Director of Immigration, Mr Felix Yaw
Sarpong, charged personnel at the various entry
points of the country to eschew extortion and
other negative practices that had the tendency to
tarnish the image of the service and send bad
signals to foreigners such as investors and
tourists.
Mr Afari cautioned parents who give their
children to foreigners to be sent away for
monetary gains, to desist from such acts
warning that anyone caught would be severely
punished.
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