The Ekiti State Command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has arrested a 30-year-old woman, Temitope Balogun, for alleged child trafficking.

Balogun, a tailor, was said to have facilitated the movement of a 19-year-old girl, Oloruntola Janet, from Ikare-Akoko in Ondo State to Lagos where the victim was arranged to board a vehicle to Ghana.

A statement on Thursday by the Command’s Public Relations Officer, Afolabi Tolulope, said the suspect was arrested in Imesi-Ekiti following a complaint from the mother of the victim.

Afolabi said the woman had been handed over to the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP).

He said: “Handing over the suspect at the headquarters of the Command, the State Commandant, Dr Oluwaseun Sosina, explained that the suspect, who is a tailor residing in Imesi-Ekiti, acted on the precarious situation of the victim to convince her that she had a better life for her in Ghana where her sister would provide sales representative job for the victim in a provision store.

“Without the consent of the victim’s parents, the suspect, Temitope Balogun, facilitated her movement from Ikare in Ondo State to Lagos where she was arranged to board a vehicle from Mile 2 to Ghana as planned by the suspect in Nigeria and the accomplice in Ghana.

“The mother of the victim later invited the suspect for questioning after a series of attempts to locate the suspect failed and at that spot, officers of NSCDC OutPost in the town arrested the suspect and brought her to the headquarters for further investigation.

“Preliminary investigation revealed that the suspect called the victim on phone and advised her not to proceed on the journey after arriving in Lagos and with the support of relatives in Lagos, the victim was brought back to Imesi-Ekiti.

“The suspect, Oloruntola Janet, 19, explained that she wanted to escape from home initially as a result of sexual harassment from her step father as well as other untold hardship inflicted on her by the stepfather which made her to think of relocating to a better place in search of peace of mind.

“The suspect, who is a 30 years old tailor, said she only wanted to render an assistance to her having noticed all the problems she was facing from home as she always cried every morning at work and complained of sexual abuse from the step father.

“The State Commandant warned that the Command will not take it lightly with anyone especially those people recruiting young girls into illicit trade in Nigeria and abroad as partnership and synergy of the Corps with NAPTIP stands firm and productive.”