Africa-Press – Nigeria. <\/strong><\/span>When Zainab Abdullahi Giginyu looked at the photograph of a rescued girl, her heart skipped. The features were familiar, too familiar to ignore.<\/p>\nThe girl in the picture, seen hundreds of kilometers away in Port Harcourt, bore a striking resemblance to her daughter, who was snatched years ago in Kano.<\/p>\n
\u201cI see her eyes, her smile… I truly believe she could be my daughter,\u201d Zainab said softly, fighting back tears.<\/p>\n
\u201cI need help from the government to find out if she\u2019s really mine and bring her home.\u201d<\/p>\n
Zainab is one of dozens of parents in Kano State still haunted by the mysterious disappearances of their children.<\/p>\n
Now, hope has returned \u2014 but so has heartache \u2014 as news emerged that a group of trafficked children, many believed to be from northern Nigeria, were rescued in southern cities including Port Harcourt.<\/p>\n
A search for identity and justice<\/b><\/p>\n
Behind is a network of determined parents and activists. Coalition Of Parents For The Abducted Children In Kano State ( COPACK ), working alongside advocacy groups, has taken its appeal directly to the government. They want one thing: to reunite with their children.<\/p>\n
Comrade Isma\u2019il Ibrahim Muhammad, who leads the group in Kano, confirmed to DAILY POST that photos of rescued children have been obtained and are being circulated.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need parents whose children were abducted to come forward and look at these images,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is a chance their sons or daughters are among those identified as kidnapped children.\u201d<\/p>\n
He further revealed that in a compound in Ozouba, Port Harcourt, more kidnapped children have been identified.<\/p>\n
\u201cAuthorities in Port Harcourt have shared more pictures, and they are now with the police,\u201d Comrade Isma\u2019il said.<\/p>\n
He also mentioned that rescued children have been identified in Anambra, Delta, and Kaduna States, but bringing them back has been slow due to bureaucracy.<\/p>\n
Almost in tears, he added: \u201cWe are facing serious bureaucratic bottlenecks in returning these children home.\u201d<\/p>\n
In a video clip seen, the Kaduna State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Mansur Hassan, displayed some of the rescued children and gave chilling insights into the horrors of child trafficking.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome of these children are sold for their body parts; others are sold and their identities are completely changed,\u201d DSP Hassan said.<\/p>\n
He pointed at one child and said, \u201cThis is Isa, but his name has been changed to Michael.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then he pointed at another in a green top: \u201cHis name was Safiyanu, but they have changed his name to Joshua.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hassan also blamed parental negligence as a factor enabling child abduction, calling on families to be more vigilant.<\/p>\n
The long road home<\/b><\/p>\n
Investigations revealed that the trafficked children had not only been relocated to faraway states \u2014 mostly in the South-East and South-South \u2014 but were subjected to deep identity changes.<\/p>\n
Names were altered. Religions changed. Many were taken when they were too young to remember where they came from.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese children are growing up with no memory of their true roots,\u201d Comrade Isma\u2019il said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s painful, imagine your child growing up calling another family \u2018home\u2019 and forgetting their real parents.\u201d<\/p>\n
The rescue efforts have led to the arrest of suspected traffickers and the recovery of several children. But reuniting them with their families remains a complex process.<\/p>\n
Still, parents like Zainab hold onto hope.<\/p>\n
\u201cI believe she\u2019s mine,\u201d she repeated.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd even if she doesn\u2019t remember me now, I will wait as long as it takes to bring her back home.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Association has publicly commended the Kano State government for its support so far but issued a heartfelt plea to do more.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re thankful,\u201d said Comrade Isma\u2019il.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut the work is far from done. We need the government to double its efforts. Every child still out there deserves to come home.\u201d<\/p>\n
Source: Daily Post Nigeria<\/b><\/p>\n
For More News And Analysis About Nigeria<\/span> Follow Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By Nana Ismail Africa-Press – Nigeria. When Zainab Abdullahi Giginyu looked at the photograph of a rescued girl, her heart skipped. The features were familiar, too familiar to ignore. The girl in the picture, seen hundreds of kilometers away in Port Harcourt, bore a striking resemblance to her daughter, who was snatched years ago in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":161977,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,1437],"tags":[17185,372,254],"class_list":["post-161979","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-files","tag-children-trafficking","tag-kano","tag-nigeria"],"yoast_head":"\n
They changed their names, religion: Inside Kano\u2019s child trafficking crisis - Nigeria<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"When Zainab Abdullahi Giginyu looked at the photograph of a rescued girl, her heart skipped. The features were familiar, ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/all-news\/they-changed-their-names-religion-inside-kanos-child-trafficking-crisis\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"They changed their names, religion: Inside Kano\u2019s child trafficking crisis\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"When Zainab Abdullahi Giginyu looked at the photograph of a rescued girl, her heart skipped. The features were familiar, ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/all-news\/they-changed-their-names-religion-inside-kanos-child-trafficking-crisis\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Nigeria\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-05-11T07:46:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-05-11T08:52:42+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2025\/05\/sm_1746940884.345907.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"675\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/all-news\/they-changed-their-names-religion-inside-kanos-child-trafficking-crisis#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/all-news\/they-changed-their-names-religion-inside-kanos-child-trafficking-crisis\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"They changed their names, religion: Inside Kano\u2019s child trafficking crisis\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-05-11T07:46:44+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-05-11T08:52:42+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/all-news\/they-changed-their-names-religion-inside-kanos-child-trafficking-crisis\"},\"wordCount\":662,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/all-news\/they-changed-their-names-religion-inside-kanos-child-trafficking-crisis#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2025\/05\/sm_1746940884.345907.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Children trafficking\",\"Kano\",\"Nigeria\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"files\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/all-news\/they-changed-their-names-religion-inside-kanos-child-trafficking-crisis#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/all-news\/they-changed-their-names-religion-inside-kanos-child-trafficking-crisis\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/all-news\/they-changed-their-names-religion-inside-kanos-child-trafficking-crisis\",\"name\":\"They changed their names, religion: Inside Kano\u2019s child trafficking crisis - Nigeria\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/all-news\/they-changed-their-names-religion-inside-kanos-child-trafficking-crisis#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/all-news\/they-changed-their-names-religion-inside-kanos-child-trafficking-crisis#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2025\/05\/sm_1746940884.345907.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-05-11T07:46:44+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-05-11T08:52:42+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"description\":\"When Zainab Abdullahi Giginyu looked at the photograph of a rescued girl, her heart skipped. The features were familiar, ...\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/all-news\/they-changed-their-names-religion-inside-kanos-child-trafficking-crisis#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/all-news\/they-changed-their-names-religion-inside-kanos-child-trafficking-crisis\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/all-news\/they-changed-their-names-religion-inside-kanos-child-trafficking-crisis#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2025\/05\/sm_1746940884.345907.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2025\/05\/sm_1746940884.345907.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":675,\"caption\":\"They changed their names, religion: Inside Kano\u2019s child trafficking crisis\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/all-news\/they-changed-their-names-religion-inside-kanos-child-trafficking-crisis#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"They changed their names, religion: Inside Kano\u2019s child trafficking crisis\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/\",\"name\":\"Africa Press | Nigeria | Homepage\",\"description\":\"Just another Africa News Agency Sites site\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\",\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/author\/cfeditoren\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"They changed their names, religion: Inside Kano\u2019s child trafficking crisis - Nigeria","description":"When Zainab Abdullahi Giginyu looked at the photograph of a rescued girl, her heart skipped. The features were familiar, ...","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/all-news\/they-changed-their-names-religion-inside-kanos-child-trafficking-crisis","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"They changed their names, religion: Inside Kano\u2019s child trafficking crisis","og_description":"When Zainab Abdullahi Giginyu looked at the photograph of a rescued girl, her heart skipped. The features were familiar, ...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/all-news\/they-changed-their-names-religion-inside-kanos-child-trafficking-crisis","og_site_name":"Nigeria","article_published_time":"2025-05-11T07:46:44+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-05-11T08:52:42+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":675,"url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2025\/05\/sm_1746940884.345907.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"cfeditoren","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"cfeditoren","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/all-news\/they-changed-their-names-religion-inside-kanos-child-trafficking-crisis#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/all-news\/they-changed-their-names-religion-inside-kanos-child-trafficking-crisis"},"author":{"name":"cfeditoren","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"headline":"They changed their names, religion: Inside Kano\u2019s child trafficking crisis","datePublished":"2025-05-11T07:46:44+00:00","dateModified":"2025-05-11T08:52:42+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/all-news\/they-changed-their-names-religion-inside-kanos-child-trafficking-crisis"},"wordCount":662,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/all-news\/they-changed-their-names-religion-inside-kanos-child-trafficking-crisis#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2025\/05\/sm_1746940884.345907.jpg","keywords":["Children trafficking","Kano","Nigeria"],"articleSection":["all news","files"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/all-news\/they-changed-their-names-religion-inside-kanos-child-trafficking-crisis#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/all-news\/they-changed-their-names-religion-inside-kanos-child-trafficking-crisis","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/all-news\/they-changed-their-names-religion-inside-kanos-child-trafficking-crisis","name":"They changed their names, religion: Inside Kano\u2019s child trafficking crisis - Nigeria","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/all-news\/they-changed-their-names-religion-inside-kanos-child-trafficking-crisis#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/all-news\/they-changed-their-names-religion-inside-kanos-child-trafficking-crisis#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2025\/05\/sm_1746940884.345907.jpg","datePublished":"2025-05-11T07:46:44+00:00","dateModified":"2025-05-11T08:52:42+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"description":"When Zainab Abdullahi Giginyu looked at the photograph of a rescued girl, her heart skipped. The features were familiar, ...","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/all-news\/they-changed-their-names-religion-inside-kanos-child-trafficking-crisis#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/all-news\/they-changed-their-names-religion-inside-kanos-child-trafficking-crisis"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/all-news\/they-changed-their-names-religion-inside-kanos-child-trafficking-crisis#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2025\/05\/sm_1746940884.345907.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2025\/05\/sm_1746940884.345907.jpg","width":1200,"height":675,"caption":"They changed their names, religion: Inside Kano\u2019s child trafficking crisis"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/all-news\/they-changed-their-names-religion-inside-kanos-child-trafficking-crisis#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"They changed their names, religion: Inside Kano\u2019s child trafficking crisis"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/","name":"Africa Press | Nigeria | Homepage","description":"Just another Africa News Agency Sites site","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb","name":"cfeditoren","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/author\/cfeditoren"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/161979","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/84"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=161979"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/161979\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/161977"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=161979"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=161979"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=161979"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}