12 Arrested For Alleged Theft And Sale Of 45 Children

The Nasarawa State Police Command has paraded 12 members of a child trafficking network apprehended within the state.

12 suspected child traffickers related to the abduction and sale of forty-five children were among those paraded at the Police Command Headquarters in Lafia on Friday, February 16, 2024, for different crimes committed in the state.

CP Shehu Umar Nadada, the State Commissioner of Police, told reporters that the command has detained 57 criminals between January 1 and today.

CP Nadada describes the accused as three suspected kidnappers, three armed robbers, and twenty alleged fraudsters.

The rest are suspects who were detained for rape and motorbike/vehicle theft in various parts of the state.

“On 10/01/2024 at about 1320hrs, Police operatives attached to Keffi Division on routine patrol sighted an ongoing mob action and went in to rescue the victim,” he stated.

Following an investigation, it was determined that the man, Ismaila Adamu, stole a 5-year-old boy from Tsohon Kasuwa, Keffi. He was promptly detained and transported to a hospital for treatment, while the youngster was rescued.

“The suspect confessed to being a member of a syndicate that specialized in stealing children and selling them to the highest bidders.

“Furthermore, the investigation was expanded by the Command’s Anti-Kidnapping Unit and that led to the arrest of the following suspects namely: Hassana Jacob ‘F’ 30yrs, Elishua Idoko ‘F’ 43yrs, Gloria Ene ‘F’ 38yrs, Abdulkarim Abubakar ‘M’ 52yrs, Ramatu Ibrahim ‘F’ 41yrs, Victoria Cosmos ‘F’ 52yrs, Eforma Sunday ‘F’41yrs, Dorcas Ologbo ‘F’ 50yrs and Sherifat Amuda ‘F’ 45yrs.

“Analysis conducted on the phones of the suspects revealed that forty-five (45) children stolen have been sold and illegally adopted by unsuspecting members of the public across the country.

“The suspects have confessed to the theft and selling of so many children at different prices ranging from N350,000 to N1,500,000 depending on their age and gender.

“The suspects further stated that they steal and sell the children by conspiring with Social Welfare officers of some ministries; where they produce fake documents and sell the children to willing buyers.

“So far, six (6) children have been rescued in Abuja, Ondo and Lagos State respectively. Efforts is ongoing to arrest more suspects involved in the commission of the crime and recover more of the stolen children,” Nadada added.

Among the exhibits that were taken from the accused were counterfeit foreign exchange, firearms and ammunition, ten motorcycles, and two cars.