Operatives of the Imo State Police Command have uncovered two separate child trafficking cases, arrested the suspects involved, and rescued two children from the hands of traffickers.

According to the police, on August 12, operatives of the Command, while on routine stop and search along the Owerri–Port Harcourt Road, intercepted a couple identified as 46-year-old Ezekwere Ngozi ‘F’ of Udi LGA, Enugu State, resident in Abuja, and her husband 43-year-old Monday Atodo ‘M’ of Ofu LGA, Kogi State, resident in Kogi State.

They were found with a four-year-old boy, Isaiah (surname unknown), whom they falsely claimed was their biological child.

‘’Interrogation revealed that the child was stolen in Kogi State by one Blessing Ogwo and handed over in Abuja to Ngozi, whose role was to deliver trafficked children to buyers. Further investigation uncovered the syndicate’s mastermind, 56-year-old Ogochukwu Chikwelu ‘f’, of Nimo, Anambra State, and resident in Abuja, who operates St. Theresa’s Orphanage at Apo Street, Lokogoma. She was tracked, arrested in Abuja through a joint operation with the State CID, and transferred to Owerri for further investigation and prosecution.”

Okoye mentioned that the rescued child is safe, and efforts are ongoing to reunite him with his biological parents, as the command calls on members of the public with useful information to assist in this regard. The command is also intensifying efforts to apprehend other members of the syndicate still at large.

Similarly, on July 16, operatives of the Command, acting on credible intelligence, arrested one Precious Okoh, 29, of Nkanu-East LGA, Enugu State, at Umuguma Housing Area, Owerri, with a 9-year-old girl, Promise Christopher. She confessed that the child was stolen from Igbogene, Bayelsa State, and brought to Owerri for sale. The operatives traced the parents to Bayelsa, and the child has since been reunited with her parent.

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The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has declared a businessman and son-in-law of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Abdullahi Bashir Haske, wanted over an alleged case of criminal conspiracy and money laundering.

In a notice issued by the commission’s Head of Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewale, the EFCC urged members of the public with helpful information about Haske’s whereabouts to report to the nearest police station or any of the commission’s offices nationwide.

“The public is hereby notified that ABDULLAHI BASHIR HASKE, whose photograph appears above, is wanted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in an alleged case of Criminal Conspiracy and Money Laundering.”

Haske, 38, whose photograph was released by the anti-graft agency, was last known to reside at No. 6 Mosley Road, Ikoyi, Lagos, and 952/953 Idejo Street, Victoria Island, Lagos State.

The EFCC appealed to Nigerians to assist in tracking him down by providing credible information through its offices in major cities, including Ibadan, Uyo, Sokoto, Maiduguri, Benin, Makurdi, Kaduna, Ilorin, Enugu, Kano, Lagos, Gombe, Port Harcourt, and Abuja.

They noted that useful information about his thereabouts could be shared via the commission’s telephone line, or email address.

See the notice below

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14 children trafficked from Adamawa State and sold in Anambra State for amounts ranging from N800,000 to N1.7 million have been rescued by Adamawa State Government.

On Wednesday, August 20, the Adamawa State government reunited the rescued children with their parents at a ceremony in Yola, the Adamawa state capital.

Speaking during the ceremony, Kaletapwa George Farauta, Adamawa deputy governor, said after numerous reports of missing children in July, the government set up a joint operation with security agencies to unravel the situation.

Farauta said the operation led to the arrest of one Ngozi Abdulwahab, a suspected trafficking kingpin, who operates a small provision shop in Jambutu Ward, Yola north LGA.

The deputy governor said the suspect reportedly used snacks and gifts to lure children between the ages of 4-9 before trafficking them to Anambra.

14 children ?trafficked from Adamawa and sold for N800,000 each in Anambra? are rescued

“It is a mixed feeling of sadness and joy, it is sad that today, Adamawa is on the map of an unfortunate monster ravaging the nation, the monster of child trafficking,” she said.

“This is a story we often hear happening far away, but unfortunately, it has caught up with us.

“This notorious trafficker has perfected the art of trafficking minors aged four to nine years from various communities in Adamawa to the south-eastern region of Nigeria.

“There, she sold the victims for paltry sums ranging from N800,000 to N1.7 million per child.

“She operated from a small provision shop which she owned at Jambutu ward, Yola-North LGA, where she used snacks and gifts to lure unsuspecting children.

“Today, we have rescued 14 children and rehabilitated them.”

The deputy governor said the suspects would be prosecuted under the Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Enforcement and Administration Act 2015, Adamawa Child Protection Law (2008), the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Law 2021, and the Penal Code of the state.

She added that the family of each rescued child would receive N100,000, food, and non-food items.

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