The Northern Regional Command of the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) has rescued 33 children who were being trafficked from some communities in the Eastern Corridor to Nigeria.
Aged between 10 and 17 years, the children were rescued last week by a combined team of police and GIS personnel.
The children were being trafficked from Zabzugu and Tatale-Sangule in the Northern Region and Nkwanta North and South districts in the Volta Region.
The Northern Regional Commander of the GIS, Mr Eric Afari, announced this at a thanksgiving service at the Tamale Anglican Cathedral yesterday to thank God for the passage of the Immigration Bill into law by Parliament.
The law, which is yet to receive a presidential assent, seeks to raise the profile and expand the operations of the service and also allow officers working at the various border posts of the country to use firearms
Mr Afari, therefore, appealed to residents in the affected districts to offer credible and vital information for the arrest of the perpetrators of the human trafficking. "We wish to assure all, including parents that the children of Ghana are not for sale. They have the right to be protected under the constitution and no intruder would be allowed to violate and abuse this right,” he said.
Mr Afari stated further that child trafficking had been rampant in the Eastern Corridor of the country and called on key stakeholders in the area to halt the canker, which he said, was a criminal offence.
Galamsey
The Northern Regional Commander of the GIS said the various security agencies in the region were working hard to flush out illegal miners from the Bole District.
He bemoaned the attack on members of the Bole Bamboi District Security Committee ( DISEC) who were attacked on their way to Dollar Power, a galamsey site in the district, to assess the security situation in the area which led to the death of a military officer.
He said an immigration officer who was among the DISEC members sustained gunshot wounds on his shoulder during the attack and was also on admission.
He described galamsey as a criminal activity and a threat to national security and called on residents in the area to help deal with the menace.
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