Police Rescue 32 Trafficked Children, Arrest Three Suspects In Ebonyi

Ebonyi State Police Command has arrested  three suspected traffickers who specialize in trafficking underaged children from different parts of the country for forced labour and sexual exploitation.

The state Police Public Relations Officer, Loveth Odah who disclosed this while parading the suspects at the Police B Division, Ebonyi State Police Command, Abakaliki, said that 32 victims were also rescued from the suspects.

DSP Odah stated that on the January 7, 2022 at about 9:30 am, one Nwankwo Ijeoma of Uteruife Village in Ebonyi Local Government Area of the state reported a case of her 14-year-old missing daughter, Nwankwo Chidera.

She said that in the cause of investigation, a company’s advertisement sheet captioned “Neo Life” containing a phone number was found in the daughter’s room adding that the owner of the phone number, one Christian Nwankwo, Male, aged 19 years was trailed and arrested.

DSP Odah said that the suspect led police operatives to their hideout at Okposi Umuaghara in Ezza North where two other members of his gang were arrested.

She gave their names as, Nwagboduhu Ekene, Male, aged 20 years and Nwaoko Godwin, Male, aged 24 years old adding that 16 males and 15 females who are indigenes of Ebonyi, Enugu, Imo, Anambra, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Benue, Abia and Rivers State were rescued from them.

The PPRO said that while others were rescued in Ebonyi, Chidera Nwankwo was traced to Imo State where she was rescued.

She said that a suspected trafficker who posed as the company representative tricked Chidera into running away from her parent’s house to Imo State adding that an apartment was rented for her and other children, where she was serially abused sexually.

“Our preliminary investigation revealed that the children are trafficked from different parts of the country and are being used for forced labour and sexual exploitation in the name of networking or selling NEO Life company products”.

Odah said that so far, the command has a total number of 18 unclaimed children rescued from the suspected traffickers and urged parents whose children are missing to come to the Command headquarters for identification and a possible claim.