
Some women have been nabbed after allegedly paying a
whooping N1.8 million to buy newborn twins.
The women, who were said to be from
Enugu State, were paraded on Monday by the Imo State Police Public Relations
Officer, Andrew Enwerem, who said the suspects were intercepted on Owerri-Aba
Road.
The suspects were paraded on Monday
alongside six others, who also allegedly abducted and sold nine other children.
The police spokesperson, who decried
the rise in abduction of children, said there was a coordinated operation by
the state command to eradicate the anomaly.
Emwerem said, “In our
ongoing onslaught against child trafficking, operatives of the command have
rescued newborn twins from suspected child traffickers.
“The twins, a boy and a girl, were
rescued on Owerri-Aba Road following a coordinated operation by the command.
“The suspects, who impersonated the
mother of the twins, have made useful statements. We will charge them to court
at the end of investigation.”
The PPRO advised parents to be
mindful of those they left their children with, saying child trafficking was an
absurdity.
According to Enwerem, the crackdown
on child traffickers was as a result of the community policing strategies of
the Inspector-General of Police in the state.
Enwerem accused the six other women
that were paraded of being in the business of buying and selling of children.
He said operatives of the Federal
Special Anti-Robbery Squad in the state police command rescued nine children
stolen from their parents and guardians in Owerri and Benin by the suspects.
He said, “On August 15, on
Douglas Road, Owerri, FSARS operatives, led by Banjoko Oluwemimo, an Assistant
Superintendent of Police, acting on reliable information, arrested two suspects
– Chioma Emeka (34), of Okigwe Local Government Area of Imo State and Happiness
Peter (22), of Iyala Ogoja LGA of Cross River State.”
He said other suspects were arrested
in Imo, Edo and Lagos states, while their victims (children) were rescued.
He gave the names of the suspects
asTheresa Asiegbu, Chioma Emeka, Happiness Peter, Martina Nwadike and Martha
Ojimba.
The police spokesperson also gave
the names of the rescued children as Somtochukwu Obiduba, Kosarachi Obiduba,
Onyinyechi Okpala, Divine Anyaka, Wunmi Habeeb, Chisere Nwadike and one
Ndubuisi.
Enwerem said, “Immediately
the suspects steal a child, they will change his or her name to erase
suspicion. So, parents and guardians, whose children are missing, are advised
to report to the Public Relations Department of the Imo State Police Command
for the identification and collection of their children.
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