{"id":57610,"date":"2024-12-03T14:23:02","date_gmt":"2024-12-03T14:23:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/?p=57610"},"modified":"2024-12-03T14:23:02","modified_gmt":"2024-12-03T14:23:02","slug":"naptip-denies-blocking-soyombo-from-visiting-rescued-baby","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/2024\/12\/03\/naptip-denies-blocking-soyombo-from-visiting-rescued-baby\/","title":{"rendered":"NAPTIP Denies Blocking Soyombo from Visiting Rescued Baby"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Cynthia Abah<\/strong><\/p>\n

The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) on Tuesday denied allegations from investigative journalist Fisayo Soyombo that the agency had prevented him from visiting a baby he had rescued from an orphanage suspected of trafficking.<\/p>\n

In a statement on Arise News’s flagship program, The Morning Show, NAPTIP\u2019s Lagos Zonal Commander, Mrs. Comfort Agboko, clarified that the agency had not \u201cshut him out,\u201d but instead requested that Soyombo submit a formal written request to facilitate the visit.<\/p>\n

Soyombo had earlier claimed that NAPTIP had failed to act on his 2023 report concerning illicit baby sales.<\/p>\n

He expressed frustration over being kept in the dark about the child’s whereabouts, suggesting that the agency was obstructing his efforts to track the baby’s progress.<\/p>\n

He also called for an explanation from NAPTIP\u2019s former Director-General, Prof. Fatima Waziri-Azi.<\/p>\n

Recalling his 2023 undercover investigation into the orphanage, Soyombo detailed how he purchased a baby for N2 million and later handed the child over to NAPTIP.<\/p>\n

However, after months of monitoring, he claimed that NAPTIP had barred him from seeing the baby, undermining his trust in the agency.<\/p>\n

In response, Agboko explained that NAPTIP operates a closed shelter and collaborates with the Lagos Ministry of Youth and Social Development to care for rescued children.<\/p>\n

She confirmed that the baby spent eight months in NAPTIP\u2019s shelter before being transferred to the Ministry on April 11, 2024.<\/p>\n

Agboko also provided an update on the investigation, noting that the owner of the orphanage had been arrested in October 2023.<\/p>\n

The case was subsequently charged in May 2024 at the Federal High Court, with the trial set to resume on February 8, 2025.<\/p>\n

She also confirmed that the orphanage had been sealed by the Lagos State Government.<\/p>\n

While Agboko assured that the baby was being properly cared for, she could not provide a health update, stressing that accredited orphanage homes are regularly monitored by government officials to ensure appropriate care.<\/p>\n

Soyombo’s investigation into Arrows of God Orphanage revealed a network of illegal baby sales, involving law enforcement and judicial complicity.<\/p>\n

His expos\u00e9 led to the arrest of the orphanage\u2019s owner, D.C. Ogo, who was arraigned in June 2024.<\/p>\n

Ogo, aged 83, pleaded not guilty and was granted bail. The trial is now scheduled for February 2025.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Cynthia Abah The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) on Tuesday denied allegations from investigative journalist Fisayo Soyombo that the agency had prevented him from visiting a baby he had rescued from an orphanage suspected of trafficking. In a statement on Arise News’s flagship program, The Morning Show, NAPTIP\u2019s Lagos […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":57611,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[172],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-57610","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57610","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=57610"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57610\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":57612,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57610\/revisions\/57612"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/57611"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57610"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=57610"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=57610"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}