Baby factory concept was strange as it is against the norms and morals of the largely Christian dominated state. That was why many people in the area were jolted last week, when 13 persons were arrested in Jos the state capital for allegedly
operating a baby factory along old Bukur Park following a tip-off by a victim of the syndicate. Our correspondent gathered that those arrested included nine males and four females, including a pregnant woman and another woman clutching a toddler.The arrest was made by operatives of Operation
Safe Haven ,OPSH, deployed to restore law and order in the state. Speaking to newsmen, the OPSH Commander, Major General Rogers Nicholas said while parading the suspects at Sector 2 of the task force that the group had a ready market for the sale of infants in Abuja, FCT, and Lafiya in Nasarawa state. “This is an issue that is now bothering us within the North Central and based on intelligence, our men were able to trace the location of the baby factory. This raid will
continue to ensure that such evil acts are trashed,” he said.
Narrating her story, one Happiness John,who became a victim of the suspects. who just had her second child out of wedlock said she had been tricked into taking hard drugs by a friend who got scared and abandoned the escapade on noticing that she had been rendered unconscious She said: “During my first pregnancy almost two years ago, my friend, Zubaida came to me and told me that I should come and stay with her in a separate room so that when I gave birth, she would take me to Lafia in Nasarawa state to sell the baby and get capital to start a business. She told me she had once sold her twins in Abuja but I rejected the idea.” She further explained: “When I had the second pregnancy, Zubaida and her friend came and took me to a room around West of
Mines in Jos and gave me hard drugs. I later found myself in my aunt’s room having delivered a baby. I immediately returned home with my baby and told my mother who accompanied me to security agents.” Three of the women who were paraded denied being in the business but one
Mildred Luke who was visibly pregnant, said she was impregnated by one of the men now at large. She said, “They promised me N350,000 for a baby boy and N300,000 for
a baby girl while N400,000 will be paid to me if I delivered twins.” To most citizens of Plateau, this was strange, Lazarus Pitum ,a citizen of Plateau said this act is against the ethics of Plateau people and its inhuman, I am surprise “ On assumption of office , the Plateau state government led by Simon Lalong vowed to ameliorate the plight of the downtrodden in the society especially children .He said through his commissioner for women affairs Rufina Gurumyen recently that issues concerning the rights of children in the society cant not be over emphasized, He explained that as one of the mandate of the present administration, the ministry of women affairs has collaborate
with child protection network in the state to strengthen child rights system as an effective tool for implementation.
It would be recalled that worried by the high rate of rape and other forms of violence against children in the country the state government and United Nations Children Funds ,UNICEF, partnered towards eradicating the menace in
the state. The Plateau State government, had then released a data revealing that no fewer than 50 cases of rape of all sexes have been reported in the past four months in the state. Addressing newsmen ahead of the launch of a campaign to end Violence Against Children in Jos, the state Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Develpment, Mrs.Rufina Guruyen, said the available record in her ministry revealed 5O recent cases of rape in the state, adding
that the process of getting the date had been painstaking because parents of the victims of rape were not keen on disclosing the acts for fear of stigmatization.The commissioner, who said her ministry was working towards
ensuring that justice was done to all reported cases, enjoined parents in the state to oblige the ministry with information of rape with the aim of bringing the perpetrators to book and
serving as deterrent to others Speaking earlier, United Nations Children’s Fund ,UNICEF, Communication Officer,
Media and External Relations, Mr Samuel Kaalu, said approximately six out of every 10 children in the country experienced some form of physical, emotional or sexual violence before the age of 18, annually. He said research revealed that violence against children is on the increase in the country. “One in two children experiences physical
violence; one in four girls and one in ten boys experiences sexual violence; and one in six girls and one in five boys experiences emotional violence.”Kaalu commended government of Plateau State for standing against violence against children, adding that Plateau was the fourth state in Nigeria to respond to the call made by President Muhammadu Buhari during the launch of the National Action to End Violence Against Children during which every state in Nigeria initiated its own campaign.EndVAC is a national child protection campaign funded by the United Nations Children Funds ,UNICEF, and Plateau State government keyed into it
following President Muhammadu Buhari directive to all states to initiate the programme. Similarly speaking to newsmen during the monthly press briefing recently , the commissioner for Information and Communication , Mallam Nazif Muhammed said “ The present administration is especially
supportive of activities that, among others, promote the Sustainable Development Goals ,SDGs. In this regard, it has supported the many efforts designed to protect the child, such as the formation of the Technical Working Group (TWG) on violence against children “. He added: “Furthermore, the state government developed the State specific Priority Actions across sectors relevant to child protection, following which the final document was launched by the state governor in September 2016 . “Training for MDAs, CSOs, CPN, FBOs
and other stakeholders has also been undertaken in collaboration with UNICEF. This is aimed at equipping stakeholders with the skill to handle cases of violence against children in the state “. According to the commissioner, “ To
empower women and girls under its skills development program, the state government has trained nineteen of them
in knitting, sewing, cosmetology, catering and bead making at the end of which they received some support for take-off. And, in collaboration with the Sir Ahmadu Bello Foundation, 100 women and youth also underwent training in catering, fabric, dyeing, poultry and cosmetics . “A partnership was also entered into with the Industrial Training Fund (ITF) to train 60 women/youths in garment making and catering .
“The state government in collaboration with the Plateau Aids Control Agency, assisted by the World Bank enrolled 50
Persons Living With HIV/AIDS, orphans and vulnerable children and care-givers for training in the following as a form
of empowerment: tailoring, knitting, shoe-making, catering, hair dressing and computer application. The beneficiaries
were selected across the 17 local government areas “ he said Similarly it would be recalled that the Lalong- led administration had said it would continue to support the welfare and well being of the aged in the state especially as regards their healthy being and social welfare in all the seventeen local government areas of the state . .
Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development in Plateau , Mrs.Rufina Guruyen made this known while speaking at the celebration of the day of the Elderly in
Jos the state capital. She said “ The International Day for the
Elderly people is a day supported by the United Nations to encourage people to work harder to improve the lives of our
ageing Population “. She noted that the state government is
relentless in its drive to ensure a healthy.
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