Plateau State Police Command, yesterday, said it intercepted two trucks conveying 145 children, aged between four and eight, from Bauchi and Jigawa states.

The command’s Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Terna Tyopev, in a statement in Jos, said the children were to be sent to Plateau, Kaduna and Nasarawa states.

He said: “Our investigation has revealed that these children, who are all male, were to be taken to places that even co-ordinators of their movement did not even know. Police is liaising with the Plateau State chapter of Jama’atul Nasril Islam, JNI and other stakeholders to establish contact with the two state governments for the return of the children to their parents.”

He added that those behind the action would soon be charged to court to serve as a deterrent to others because “this trend, if not checked, will cause embarrassment to Plateau State, north central and the nation.”

In Kano

Meanwhile, a Kano Magistrate’s Court, sitting at Audu Bako Secretariat, yesterday, ordered the remand of a 27-year-old man, Aliyu Muhammad, for allegedly defiling four boys.

Muhammad of Bichi Local Government Area of Kano State was charged with unnatural offence, punishable under Section 284 of the Penal Code.

Magistrate Muhammad Jibril ordered the remand of the accused in prison custody and adjourned the case till February 9, for mention.

Earlier, the prosecutor, ASP Rufa’I Inusa, told the court that Ado Mu’azu, Musa Nura and Mati Isa, all of Bichi Local Government Area, jointly reported the case at Bichi Police Division, on November 5, 2016.

He said that on the same date at about 5p.m., the accused deceived and lured the complainants’ 11-year-old, eight-year-old, 11-year-old and 10-year-old sons.

According to him, “he lured them at the same address into his room on different occasions and forcefully had carnal knowledge of each of them through their anus.”

The victims were rushed to Bichi General Hospital for treatment.

The accused pleaded not guilty to the charge.