Nigerian agency accuses workers of attempting to sell employer's child over unpaid wages

Authorities in Nigeria are investigating an alleged attempt by three workers to traffic their employer's two-year-old child, reportedly as a form of revenge for unpaid wages. The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) has taken custody of the suspects.

According to Oba Joseph, head of operations for NAPTIP's Cross River Command, the agency received a report on Monday about the incident in the Ogberia Ochoro community. The suspects allegedly took the child with the intention of selling him. They claimed to have worked for their employer for approximately three months without receiving their wages, stating the child trafficking was a way to recover the owed money.

However, the employer disputes the workers' claims, asserting that all wages were paid except for the current month, which had not yet concluded. The suspects were apprehended after a farmer returning from his fields noticed their suspicious behavior with the child. When questioned, one suspect allegedly claimed the child was his own, but the farmer, unconvinced, raised an alarm, leading to their arrest after they had passed through several communities.

Investigations are ongoing, and NAPTIP plans to prosecute the suspects upon completion. A complicating factor is the discrepancy in the suspects' ages. While the community documented them as 18, 19, and 27, the suspects told NAPTIP they were 16, 17, and 25. This age difference could affect how the case is handled by the court, potentially classifying them as children in conflict with the law. Regardless of age, NAPTIP stressed that the attempted trafficking of the child remains a serious offense.

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They claimed they decided to traffic the child as revenge and to recover the money they said they were owed.