Suspected trafficker steals 6-year-old pupil from Makurdi school
A six-year-old pupil of RCM Primary School, Tionsha on the outskirts of Makurdi town, Agatha Apenanibo is reported to have been stolen from her school by a suspected trafficker.
Confirming the incident to newsmen in Makurdi, the Head Teacher of the school, Mrs. Grace Torkuma explained that the pupil went missing at the weekend while out on break with her mates.
According to Mrs. Torkuma the pupil who was marked present when the morning attendance was taken by the class teacher was in class till the break period.
She said nobody noticed her absence because it was normal for some of the pupils in the school to always dash home during break.
“So because of that, I didn’t take her absence seriously until the following day when the matter was brought to my notice by her class teacher after the father reported the incident to the school.”
She said findings from fellow pupils indicated that while the pupils were on break, the missing girl in the company of her mates was playing by the roadside which is not too far from the Makurdi-Naka road “when an unknown woman called her and gave her unspecified amount of money to buy biscuit but also followed her and the both of them never returned again.”
Mrs. Torkuma who attributed the incident to the absence of a perimeter fence around the school which made it difficult to check trespassers and restrict the pupils to the confines of the school, said the matter had been reported to the Police.
Efforts to reach the father of the girl failed as he refused to speak but the parish priest of RCM Church Tionsha, where Agatha’s parents are parishioners, Rev. Fr. Osbert Viashima, confirmed the incident.
Contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer, Superintendent, SP Catherine Anene who confirmed the development said an investigation was ongoing into the matter.
