Iddrisu Sumani believed to be in his 30s have been arrested by the northern regional police for attempting to smuggle 9 children from various ages from Singgbeni, a farming community in the Daboya district to Tamale.
The suspect who is currently in the police custody of northern regional police command was rounded up by the police upon tipoff on his arrival in Tamale with the children.
The alleged trafficker told the police during interrogation that he was bringing the children to Tamale for labour. This, the police say was illegal under the 1992 constitution of Ghana to engaged minors in
Northern regional police crime officer Superintendent Alhaji Mahama Arhin told Zaa News that child trafficking in the northern region was prevalent and that parent must be vigilant about their children movement.
The police he said are preparing the suspect for court within the 48 hours. The eldest among the nine children was 13 years old class 6 pupil and the youngest is 9 years old.
Meanwhile, northern regional crime officer is advising young people especially, girls to be extra careful about people parading themselves as job agents. Alhaji Mahama Arhin said such people are only to lured youth and abandon them after getting what they want.
In 1990, Ghana ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. The country subsequently included some prohibitive clauses in the 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana, and enacted the Children’s Act, 1998 (Act 560).
The Human Trafficking Act, (Act 694) was passed in 2005 to set the framework for the fight against child trafficking. There are also child protection provisions in the Domestic Violence Act, 2007 (732), some provisions in the Criminal Code, 1960 (Act 29), and the Whistle Blowers Act, 2006 (720).
The International Labour Organization (ILO) estimates 215 million children between the ages of 5 and 17 are involved in child labor globally, with over 60% in agriculture.
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