Operatives of Amotekun Corps in Osun State have arrested a suspected inter-state child trafficker identified as one Isaac Okonu for allegedly trafficking four under-aged boys from Akwa Ibom State to Osun to work as labourers.

According to a statement signed by the spokesperson outfit in Osun, Yusuff Idowu, and made available on Saturday in Osogbo, the vehicle conveying the suspect and the victims to Osun was intercepted in the Ifetedo area of the State.

It said the 23-year-old suspect, who also hails from Akwa Ibom State, lured the victims out of their state with the offer of jobs in Lagos without seeking the consent of their parents.

It was, however, learnt that the suspect intended to take the victims to Ajebandele village in Osun, where he planned to use them as labourers on farms.

The statement read partly, “The operatives of Osun Amotekun Corps on Thursday, February 29, 2024, around 6:45 pm arrested a young man, Isaac Okonu, 23 years old, from Akwa Ibom State, for trafficking five young boys to Ajebandele in Osun State without the consent of their parents or relatives.

“The suspect was arrested by the men of Amotekun in Ifetedo after the driver of the vehicle that transported them from Akwa Ibom to Osun State lodged a complaint at the Amotekun Ifetedo Command in Ife South. The operatives swung into action immediately and arrested the suspect on the spot.

“The suspect confessed to trafficking the boys without the consent of their parents or relatives. Isaac said he met the young boys in the motor park in Akwa Ibom State begging for money and he told them if they could follow him to Lagos State, he could provide jobs for them.

“He took them without the consent of their parents or relatives and moved them down to Osun State heading to Ajebandele before luck ran against him in Ifetedo.”

The agency said the victims included four minors aged 10, 11, 14 and 15, and a 23-year-old man

“The victims narrated that they were taken out of Akwa Ibom State without the consent of their parents or relatives and that Isaac lied to them that he was taking them to Lagos State to provide jobs for them not knowing that he was taking them to Osun to work on the farm.

“The suspect and the victims have been transferred to the National Agency For Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons headquarters in Osogbo for further interrogation and prosecution,” it added.