Six children have been rescued by the Nasarawa Police command from syndicate for alleged theft and selling off 45 children at various locations in four States including Abuja.
The Nasarawa State Commissioner of Police, CP Umar Shehu Nadada stated this while parading 47 other suspects at the Command Headquarters in Lafia, the state capital.
He said that six of the stolen children were rescued by the police in Abuja, Ondo, and Lagos States.
According to the Commissioner of Police, “the arrest of the ten-member syndicate followed them confession of one Ismaila Adamu who was apprehended for allegedly stealing a five-year-old boy in Keffi Local Government Area of the state and selling to one Mrs. Hassana Jacob.”
He said; “Following the initial intervention by the Nasarawa State Police Command in thwarting a child abduction operation, the investigation took a significant turn with the arrest of additional suspects.”
“The Command’s Anti-Kidnapping Unit, in collaboration with the Interpol Criminal Investigation Department (ICD), apprehended the following individuals.
“Hassana Jacob (female, 30 years), Elishua Idoko (male, 43 years), Gloria Ene (female, 38 years), Abdulkarim Abubakar (male, 52 years), Ramatu Ibrahim (female, 41 years), Victoria Cosmos (female, 52 years), Eforma Sunday (female, 41 years),
Dorcas Ologbo (female, 50 years),
Sherifat Amuda (female, 45 years).”
Nadada stated that some social welfare officers of some Government ministries allegedly conspired with the suspects to prepare fake documents for selling the children to willing buyers.
In an interview, some of the suspects Mrs Hassan Jacob, mother of four children said she stole the children mostly from Plateau State and sold them for between 250,000 and 400,000 Naira.
Also, Abdulkarim Abubakar and Mrs Sherifat Amuda who were arrested in Niger and Ogun States said they never knew the children were stolen.
Among the 47 suspects were two suspects who were arrested for allegedly having 45 bundles of one hundred denomination counterfeit notes worth 450,000 Naira.
Mercy Chukwudiebere
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