Binta Adamu-Bello, the Director-General of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), has raised the alarm over the rising rate of child sexual exploitation facilitated by parents and guardians.

Ms Adamu-Bello raised the alarm in a statement on Friday by NAPTIP’s spokesperson, Vincent Adekoye.

She said parents and guardians were facilitating the sexual exploitation of their children to make money.

Ms Adamu-Bello disclosed that the agency was swamped with reports of parents and guardians giving their children and wards out for sexual exploitation in return for money.

She said parents and guardians have turned children into sex toys without considering the attendant negative consequences both on their physical and psychological well-being, as well as their careers in life.

“I am personally disturbed as a mother and as the director-general of NAPTIP by the reported cases of some parents aiding and abetting the sexual abuse of their children for monetary benefits.

“From the reports being logged both at the headquarters and in our commands across the country, it appears that this unhealthy development is on the increase.

The NAPTIP boss warned that the agency would henceforth tighten the processes for the prosecution of child abuse offenders to ensure their conviction.

She recalled that the agency issued a directive to all commands to increase surveillance and ensure the prosecution of cases involving child abuse and sexual assault.

Ms Adamu-Bello also reacted to the arrest of a middle-aged woman (name withheld) by the operatives of the agency in Abuja, on allegations of giving out her teenage daughter for sexual pleasure in exchange for money.

The NAPTIP boss described the development as the highest form of cruelty against the child, which she said would attract the maximum penalty.

“I cannot imagine that a mother would agree to give out her daughter to men for sexual pleasure in return for money or other benefits,” she said.

Ms Adamu-Bello said this was one of the highest forms of wickedness, stressing that such acts contravene all legal frameworks, laws, and conventions, both nationally and globally.

She said the agency had also strengthened its collaboration with partners and other law enforcement agencies across the country to enhance prompt investigation and prosecution of culprits in such cases.

The DG called on parents to carry out due diligence and proper profiling of their vendors so as not to give their children to suspected paedophiles who would continue to abuse them.

The NAPTIP boss said parents and guardians should be careful in choosing gatekeepers, drivers, gardeners, and others who do school runs for them.

(NAN)