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A Benue State-based activist and anti-trafficking campaigner, Zege’Orkwande Sughnen Yaaya, has raised an urgent alarm over what he describes as the daily disappearance of children between the ages of two and five years in Gboko, a major town in Benue State. In a Facebook post circulated from a mobile device, Yaaya claimed that on a single day, he received four separate reports of missing children in his social media inbox. He specifically stated that the baby shown in photographs attached to the post went missing that same day along with her sister. The activist framed the trend as “another form of insecurity” affecting Benue State, beyond the well-documented herder-farmer conflicts that have long plagued the region. He directly tagged the Benue State Police Command in Makurdi and the Benue State Government in his post, urging immediate action.
The post includes three images of young children. The left photograph shows a child in a white patterned shirt and blue shorts seated indoors near a table. The top right image features a child standing outdoors in a white t-shirt bearing the text “ch!c.” The bottom right photograph depicts a young girl with colorful beads in her hair, wearing a white dress with green accents.
Yaaya, who is known locally as a persistent campaigner against human trafficking, child abduction, and the exploitation of young girls and women, frequently uses social media to issue missing persons alerts, document rescues, and pressure authorities to respond. His activism has made him a prominent voice on child protection issues in Benue State.
Gboko and other parts of Benue State have seen recurring reports and allegations of child disappearances, abductions, and trafficking over several years. Some cases have been linked to organized trafficking networks, while others have involved schemes associated with orphanages or general insecurity. In some instances, very young children have gone missing, while in others, teenagers have been lured away with false promises of employment.
As of this report, the specific post by Yaaya has not been independently verified by major news outlets, and it remains unclear whether the children mentioned have been located or whether formal investigations have been launched. Nevertheless, activists and residents familiar with the issue note that such alerts often circulate rapidly on local social media, prompting community-led search efforts and heightened vigilance.
Child disappearances remain a sensitive and serious concern in parts of Nigeria, including Benue State, and activists like Yaaya continue to use their platforms to demand faster responses from police and government authorities.
