Headlines
Again traffickers sell Kano children for N500,000 in Lagos, Anambra
Nasiru Yusuf Ibrahim
Kano State Police Command, on Thursday, said it busted a child trafficking syndicate that sold children from the state for between N400,000 and N500,000 in Lagos, Anambra and other states in the South.
KANO FOCUS reports that the Police also rescued seven children from the nine-man syndicate. The children were aged between three and eight years. It was learned that they were stolen as infants.
Meanwhile, before selling off the children, their names were usually changed.
The Commissioner of Police, Muhammad Usaini Gumel, paraded the suspects at the Bompai Police headquarters of the state.
Muhammad Usaini Gumel
Gumel said the command busted the syndicate when one Comfort was intercepted at the Mariri luxurious park in Kano. She was attempting to traffick a five-year-old victim (names withheld) to Lagos.
He said Comfort’s arrest led to nabbing other eight members of the syndicate.
According to him, “In the area of tackling offences around human trafficking, including the buying and selling of minors, the Police Command has conducted several intelligence-led operations.
“This led to the longtime cycle of inter-state trafficking syndicates hibernating around Kano, Bauchi, Gombe, Lagos, Delta, Anambra, and Imo states, etc identified and dismantled.”
How they nabbed the traffickers
Speaking on how the nine traffickers were arrested, the police boss said: “At the stage of preliminary investigation, four other suspects were separately arrested for being part of the syndicate.
“They are Ezugbu, 52, of Sabon Gari Quarters; Nzelu, 43, of Sabon Gari Quarters; Ali, 35, of Badawa Quarters, Kano, and Ekeidigwe, 55, of Weitherhead Sabon Gari Quarters Kano.
“It was discovered during the investigation that the child, who is from Zango Quarters, was abducted on December 12 from Bauchi State.
“Further investigation revealed that the suspects are in the same cycle of abducting, buying and selling minors from Bauchi and Kano states. They traffick and sell them to people within their racket in different locations in Lagos and Anambra states.
“In addition, two more syndicate members were arrested in Bauchi. They are Yarima, 45, of Zango Quarters, Bauchi, and Samuel, 35, of Yelwa, Bauchi State.
“Also, one other syndicate member was arrested in Lagos State. She is Obi, indigene of Nnewi, Anambra State, aged 59 years. Through her another syndicate member was also arrested in Nnewi. She is Eriobuna, aged 59.
“This brought the total number of arrested trafficking suspects to nine.
Victim’s name changed
“It was found during investigations that another victim, Ilya, had his name changed to Chidebere. He was abducted from Bauchi and sold at Nnewi. He has also been rescued.
“The child that was rescued at Mariri Luxurious Park had his name changed to Ifenyin Chukwu and sold at ₦480,000. Asiya changed to Chioma and sold N480,000. She is four years, abducted in Bauchi and rescued at Niger Road, Sabon Gari Quarters, Kano.
“Mahmud Bilyaminu, aged three, abducted from Bauchi, re-named Chioma, sold for N450,000 and rescued at Niger Road, Sabon Gari, Kano.
“Usman Adamu, aged eight years, abducted from Bauchi, sold at ₦450,000, name changed to Chibuke also rescued at Yoruba Road, Sabon Gari Kano. Hafizu Hassan, eight, abducted from Bauchi, sold at ₦480,000, and his name changed to Uche Chukwu. He was rescued at Niger Road, Sabon Gari Kano.
“Chiamaka Ambrose, aged seven, abducted on her birthday at Yelwa Bauchi. She was sold at ₦300,000, but rescued at Niger Road, Sabon Gari Kano. We are still searching for her parents.
“Mohammed Iliya, aged five, was abducted from Bauchi three years back, sold at ₦500,000, and renamed Chidebere. He was rescued at Nnewi, Anambra State.
“Some of these children are cultured and assimilated as they can no longer speak their parents’ language.
“This is part of our determination to ensure that Kano State remains a place where the rights and dignity of every individual are upheld.’
Nasiru Yusuf Ibrahim
The Kano State Government says it has executed 1,508 development projects worth more than N928 billion across the state’s 44 local government areas since Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf assumed office, with about 80 per cent of constituency projects awarded between 2023 and 2025 already completed.
KANO FOCUS reports that the Commissioner for Public Procurement, Projects Monitoring and Evaluation, Comrade Nura Iro Ma’aji Sumaila, disclosed this during an international press briefing on the administration’s infrastructure development programme.
According to Comrade Sumaila, the projects cover critical sectors including roads, urban renewal, education, healthcare, security and other social infrastructure.
He said 799 of the projects have been completed, while 709 are at various stages of execution. He added that the state is also implementing 619 constituency projects through members of the Kano State House of Assembly.
The commissioner noted that about 80 per cent of the constituency projects have been completed. However, he said some projects remain unfinished because of rising construction costs caused by inflation.
He said the government has submitted a request to Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf for an upward review of contract sums to enable contractors complete the affected projects.
Breakdown of projects
Comrade Sumaila said the administration spent over N169 billion on urban renewal projects, including road rehabilitation, drainage construction and other metropolitan infrastructure.
He said another N118 billion was committed to constructing five-kilometre roads in 38 local government areas to improve connectivity across the state.
According to him, the government also awarded contracts worth over N6.8 billion for the construction of Kano State Neighbourhood Watch security divisions in 36 local government areas.
He added that rural infrastructure projects covering education, healthcare and other social interventions across the 44 local government areas account for contracts valued at more than N397 billion, while other ongoing projects have a combined value of about N255 billion.
Commitment to transparency
The commissioner said the Ministry of Public Procurement, Projects Monitoring and Evaluation would continue to ensure compliance with due process and technical standards in the execution of government projects.
He said the ministry’s mandate includes monitoring projects to ensure value for money and prudent utilisation of public resources.
According to him, the administration’s investments in infrastructure are intended to improve mobility, strengthen security, expand access to education and healthcare, improve water supply and stimulate economic growth across the state.
Nasiru Yusuf Ibrahim
Kano State has emerged as the highest-ranked sub-national government in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) for education spending, according to the latest Sub-National Education Spending Index developed by the University of Paris.
KANO FOCUS reports that the ranking places Kano State first among 209 first-level sub-national governments across 15 ECOWAS member countries, underscoring the state’s growing reputation for prioritising investment in education.
According to the published index, Kano topped the rankings with an overall S-WAESI score of 87.21, outperforming other leading regions, including Dakar and Saint-Louis in Senegal. Lagos State was the second Nigerian state on the list, ranking 16th overall.
The assessment evaluated states and regions using the S-WAESI (Sub-National Weighted Aggregate Education Spending Index) methodology, which measures government commitment to education through indicators such as actual education expenditure, spending per student, budget execution, education priority, transparency and evidence-based reporting.
The methodology assigns 35 points to actual education spending, 25 points to spending per student, 20 points to budget execution, 10 points to education priority and 10 points to transparency.
The report indicated that Kano excelled largely due to its strong actual education spending and budget execution, making it the best-performing sub-national government in the region.
The ranking covered states, regions, districts and municipalities across Nigeria, Senegal, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Togo, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau and Cabo Verde.
Kano State Accountability Forum on Education (K-SAFE) said the recognition reflects Kano State Government’s sustained investment in expanding access to education, improving school infrastructure and strengthening educational planning and budget implementation.
KANO FOCUS reports that the achievement is expected to further boost the state’s profile as a leader in education reform within West Africa and provide additional momentum for ongoing efforts to improve learning outcomes across the state.
The latest ranking comes amid renewed attention on education financing across ECOWAS, with experts increasingly emphasising transparent budgeting, efficient resource utilisation and sustained public investment as critical drivers of quality education.
Nasiru Yusuf Ibrahim
Kano State has emerged as one of the biggest beneficiaries of the World Bank-supported HOPE Governance Programme after qualifying for a total of $3.5 million in performance-based incentives for implementing key governance, education and healthcare reforms.
KANO FOCUS reports that the World Bank, through the HOPE Governance Programme domiciled in the Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, approved $27 million in incentives for states that successfully met the Year Zero Disbursement-Linked Results (DLRs).
The National Coordinator of the HOPE Governance Programme, Assad Hassan, announced the incentives on Tuesday in Abuja during a retreat attended by commissioners, permanent secretaries and directors of budget and planning from the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
A statement issued by the programme’s Communications Officer, Joe Mutah, said the incentives were based on the recommendations of the Interim Independent Verification Agent, which assessed states’ performance against agreed reform indicators.
Kano ranked among the highest-performing states, qualifying for incentives under three separate reform indicators.
The state will receive $1.5 million under Disbursement-Linked Result (DLR) 2.1 for adopting comprehensive guidelines for the preparation and submission of consolidated work plans for the state basic education budget.
It also qualified for another $1.5 million under DLR 2.2, which recognises states that adopted comprehensive guidelines for consolidated work plans for state primary healthcare budgets.
In addition, Kano secured $500,000 under DLR 2.3 for adopting harmonised budget guidelines and a unified chart of accounts for local governments.
Altogether, the state is expected to receive $3.5 million, making it one of the top-performing states under the programme.
Only five states—Bayelsa, Borno, Kano, Kebbi and Yobe—qualified for both the education and healthcare planning incentives, earning $3 million each from the two indicators alone.
Kano further distinguished itself by qualifying under the local government budgeting reform indicator, increasing its total allocation to $3.5 million.
The state also featured among 15 states that met the requirements under DLR 4.1, which rewards states for publishing their 2025 Citizens Budget for basic education and primary healthcare by February 28, 2025. Each qualifying state under this indicator will receive $500,000.
Other states that qualified under DLR 4.1 are Abia, Bayelsa, Borno, Edo, Ekiti, Enugu, Imo, Jigawa, Kebbi, Kogi, Nasarawa, Ondo, Plateau and Yobe.
According to the programme, the performance-based incentives are designed to encourage states to strengthen governance systems, improve budget transparency and enhance planning in the education and primary healthcare sectors.
KANO FOCUS reports that the HOPE Governance Programme is a World Bank-supported initiative implemented through the Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning to promote improved public financial management and better service delivery across Nigeria’s states.
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