The Mandate Secretary of the FCT Women Affairs Secretariat, Adedayo Benjamins-Laniyi, announced that the Federal Capital Territory Administration has closed down an orphanage named the Priesthood Orphanage in Karonmajigi.
This decision comes after the rescue of 23 children, aged 1 to 14 years, who were trafficked from Plateau state and found in the orphanage.
Benjamins-Laniyi made revealed this on Monday, February 19, stating that the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, has authorized the Secretariat to conduct a comprehensive review and recertification of all orphanages operating within the nation’s capital.
She added that the Women’s Secretariat is currently collaborating with the office of the Commissioner of Women Affairs of Plateau state to facilitate the reunification of the children with their families.
Some of these children, she stated, had been residing in the unaccredited orphanage for as long as five years, dating back to 2019.
Caroline Dafur, the Plateau state Commissioner for Women Affairs, recounted that the proprietors of the orphanage home had abandoned the children under the care of one Pastor Abraham, in a deplorable condition of hunger.
The dire situation came to light when three of the children managed to escape and were later discovered by officers of the Federal Road Safety Corps.
Subsequently, the case was reported to the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), and the children were taken to Human Rights Radio, which then alerted both the Plateau State government and the FCT Women’s Secretariat.
Dafur elaborated on their efforts, stating, “We came in yesterday and on reaching here, we were told that they went to church.
“We kept going from one church to another, looking for them until we found them in a Deeper Life Church, where we were able to pick them up, and we went to the home. And we saw the place, it is not supposed to be called a home.”
Expressing dismay at the conditions, Dafur continued, “The place is just so unkempt. I wonder how the children were sleeping in the small room. Nine girls were sleeping in a very small room with just two mattresses.
“And then for the boys, they were in a small room too, with two mattresses just on the floor. And I mean, it’s so pathetic the way human beings treat human beings in this country.”
She conveyed the Plateau State government’s displeasure while also expressing gratitude to the Mandate Secretary for her assistance in evacuating the children and relocating them to the Karu Children’s Home.
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