Gombe Governor Raises Alarm Over 48 Missing Children
Gombe State Governor Inuwa Yahaya has disclosed that 48 children between the ages of two and five have been reported missing across the state, allegedly stolen and taken to other parts of the world, as authorities grapple with a growing pattern of child-stealing and criminal activity that he described as a serious threat to peace and public safety.
Yahaya made the disclosure on Friday during the inauguration of a Ramadan palliatives distribution exercise in Gombe, revealing the scale of the crisis without specifying the period over which the children had gone missing. The governor expressed uncertainty about the prospects of their recovery, a statement that underscored the gravity of the situation and the apparent limitations of ongoing efforts to trace the victims.
“From the available records, 48 Gombe State children between the ages of two and five have been stolen from the state to other parts of the world,” Yahaya was quoted as saying. “Their parents are here within the state; for the children, we don’t know if they would be found or not.”
The governor cited a recent incident to illustrate the immediacy of the threat, disclosing that a boy was stolen at Orji Estate following a relaxation of the state government’s earlier ban on motorcycle operations. The child was subsequently rescued, but the episode reinforced concerns that security measures introduced by the administration remain insufficient against determined criminal elements. “With the relaxation of the motorcycle ban, a boy was stolen at Orji Estate but thankfully he was rescued,” Yahaya said.
The governor used the occasion to push back against critics who have opposed certain security policies adopted by his administration, particularly the ban on metal scrap dealings and restrictions on motorcycle use. He revealed that some persons affected by the scrap metal ban had approached religious leaders to lobby against the policy, arguing that it undermined their livelihood. Yahaya dismissed those objections, stating that the measures were designed to improve security, restore peace, and tackle motorcycle theft and related crimes. He urged residents to support government security efforts rather than resist them, arguing that security was a shared responsibility.
“We must take serious measures to tackle these emerging threats and restore peace in the state,” Yahaya said. “Before now, Nigerians were living in peace, why was it so? What is now missing and what are we supposed to do? We need to evaluate things today and do what we ought to do, no matter how tough.”
Beyond child-stealing, the governor raised alarm over the indiscriminate vandalism of critical public infrastructure across the state. He disclosed that the newly built Muhammadu Buhari Industrial Park, constructed at a cost of N26 billion, had been targeted by suspected vandals who removed electrical installations meant to distribute power from Dadin Kowa Dam to the facility. Equipment was reportedly carted away from the site, leaving the park exposed to further deterioration before it reaches its operational potential. Yahaya also pointed to rail tracks and other valuable public assets as targets of what he described as a disturbing and escalating pattern of infrastructure destruction.
The disclosures about child-stealing in Gombe add to a broader national conversation about human trafficking and child abduction in Nigeria, a country that has consistently featured in regional and global reports on trafficking in persons. The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), established in 2003, has over the years documented cases of children trafficked from northern Nigerian states to various destinations, both within the country and abroad. The International Labour Organization and UNICEF have long flagged Nigeria as a significant source, transit, and destination country for trafficked children, with victims often subjected to forced labour, domestic servitude, or sexual exploitation. Governor Yahaya’s disclosure that the 48 missing children have been taken to “other parts of the world” suggests a transnational dimension to the crisis in Gombe that goes beyond ordinary kidnapping.
The governor’s remarks came on the sidelines of the launch of a Ramadan palliatives exercise targeting 70,000 beneficiaries across the state. The distribution, overseen by a designated Palliatives Distribution Committee, is focused on vulnerable members of the community, including physically challenged persons, religious organisations, orphanages, and party support groups. Items earmarked for distribution include rice, macaroni, spaghetti, cooking oil, and sugar, among other essentials. Yahaya directed the committee to complete distribution within three days and demanded transparency, accountability, and fairness in the process.
“The items must be distributed within next three days, including rice, macaroni, spaghetti, oil, sugar, among other items,” the governor was quoted as directing.
Gombe State, located in the northeast geopolitical zone of Nigeria, has in recent years contended with security pressures common to the broader region, including the residual effects of Boko Haram insurgency that devastated communities in neighbouring Borno, Yobe, and Adamawa states. While Gombe itself was spared the worst of the insurgency’s direct violence, its proximity to conflict-affected states has made it susceptible to spillover criminality, population displacement, and the movement of armed groups. The current wave of child abductions that Yahaya described adds a disturbing layer to an already complex security environment.
The governor did not announce any specific law enforcement operations or interagency collaboration in response to the missing children, nor did he indicate whether federal security agencies had been formally engaged on the matter. His call for collective action, while broadly framed, stopped short of outlining a concrete government response plan, a gap that advocacy groups and affected families may press to have filled in the days ahead.