The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) has said it rescued a 12-year-old girl forced into marriage to a 50-year-old farmer in Benue State.
This was disclosed by NAPTIP Zonal Commander in Makurdi, Mrs Gloria Bai, on Wednesday.
According to Mrs. Bai, the girl, who was married off by her family, thought she was being taken to town to further her education.
However, on getting to the man’s house, she discovered she was to be his wife, and a third one too.
The young girl remained in the forced marriage for about three months as the farmer abused her, until NAPTIP stepped in, rescued and put her into protective custody.
The NAPTIP Zonal Commander said: “We got this report from a concerned citizen and contrary to media reports that NAPTIP was slow and unenthusiastic.
“We swiftly went into action to search for the address where the girl was and when we got the address, we planned to go first thing in the morning so that we could get both the man and the victim and by 6am, we were there.
“Unfortunately, the rain came and we were able to rescue the girl, but the man had gone out. We are on it and our officers are already on surveillance to get the man.
“The girl will also be taken to a hospital for medical examination and she will undergo proper counselling.”
She added that the agency was making efforts to arrest the farmer who is presently at large.