Two commercial buses allegedly transporting 32 children to Ede in Osun state were intercepted by men from the Benue State Police Command’s anti-crime squad, code-named Operation Zenda.

On Saturday, January 8, the two vehicles were stopped in Ameladu, Gboko Local Government Area, Benue State.

Mrs. Linda Akaasema, the children’s conveyor who claimed to own an orphanage in Osun state,assid the children were mostly teenagers, with 13 boys and 19 girls.

The children who were inmates of the Akaasema Child Care Foundation, which was registered in Benue but operated in Osun, only came home for the Yuletide festivities, according to Mrs Akaasema.

The children are from the Ukum local government towns of Zakibiam, Jootar, and other towns that share borders with Taraba state, according to Mrs Akaasema.

She was unable to provide any documentation to support her claims of owning an orphanage or to show that the children were actually in school and only came home on weekends.

She was also unable to provide any identification documents, claiming that she had forgotten all of them when she left Osun state.

SP Catherine Anene, the command’s spokeswoman, confirmed the development and said an investigation was underway.