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In a chilling confession, Sunday Onome has recounted how his alleged involvement in a child trafficking operation earned him millions of naira before his arrest alongside his girlfriend and son in Onitsha, Anambra State.

For years, Onome, an indigene of Ebonyi State, lived an ordinary life as a private driver, earning a modest income while trying to provide for his family. Today, however, he is in police custody, accused of participating in one of society’s most disturbing crimes.

In a detailed confession to investigators with the IGP Special Team on the VCRU, Onome narrated how he allegedly became involved in child trafficking, claiming he received a total of N3.6 million from two completed operations before his arrest.

His confession, which forms part of an ongoing police investigation, describes an alleged operation built on trust, deception and financial reward. According to him, what began as an opportunity to make quick money gradually drew him deeper into a network that moved children across states while those believed to be coordinating the operation remained largely behind the scenes.

Onome told investigators that before his arrest, he worked as a private driver, delivering vehicles and running errands for his employer. The job provided a legitimate source of income until he lost it after being absent during one of his assignments, leaving him unemployed and searching for another means of survival.

According to his confession, his search for income eventually brought him into contact with people allegedly involved in child trafficking. During that period, he met a woman through the network, and their relationship gradually became intimate. She later became his girlfriend, and together they allegedly carried out assignments while maintaining communication with those coordinating the movement of children.

The first assignment, according to Onome, marked the beginning of his deeper involvement. He admitted that the child involved was the son of one of his close friends who trusted him completely. Because of that relationship, he said, the child did not suspect anything unusual when he was taken away.

Onome confessed that after handing the child over to members of the alleged trafficking network, he received N1.3 million. He described it as the largest amount of money he had ever received at once and admitted that the payment convinced him the operation was highly profitable.

Rather than stop after the first transaction, Onome said he accepted another assignment. This time, he allegedly facilitated the movement of two more children and was paid N2.3 million. By his account, the two operations earned him a combined total of N3.6 million before the network was disrupted.

As his confidence grew, so did the alleged network’s trust in him. Onome claimed he became one of the people regularly contacted whenever children needed to be transported from one location to another. Instructions were allegedly communicated by telephone, while payments were made into his bank account after each assignment. He said the organisers rarely met him in person, preferring to direct operations remotely.

His girlfriend, according to his statement, became an active participant in the operation. While he handled the movement of children, she allegedly maintained contact with other members of the network, helping to coordinate arrangements throughout the assignments.

Onome also admitted involving his own son. According to his confession, the boy assisted during some assignments by helping to move children to agreed locations before they were allegedly handed over to other members of the trafficking ring. He acknowledged that his son’s involvement resulted from his own actions.

The assignment that ultimately led to their arrest involved two more children. Onome said he travelled with them to Onitsha, where another contact was expected to receive them. After arriving in the city, he checked into a hotel with the children because those scheduled to collect them reportedly said they could not meet him immediately.

He claimed he remained at the hotel while awaiting further instructions. During that period, money was allegedly transferred to him to cover accommodation and feeding expenses for himself and the children. He believed the handover would proceed as it had during previous assignments.

But this time, events unfolded differently.

Before the children could allegedly be handed over, security operatives closed in on the suspects. Investigators had tracked the children’s movement to Onitsha, leading to the arrest of Onome, his girlfriend and his son, bringing what he admitted had become a lucrative criminal enterprise to an end.

Now in custody, Onome has provided investigators with what police describe as a detailed account of his alleged role in the operation. He admitted receiving N1.3 million for the first child and N2.3 million for the second assignment involving two children, while explaining how the operation was organised and how communication was maintained among those allegedly involved.

His confession is expected to play a key role in the ongoing investigation as detectives work to identify other suspects and determine the full scope of the alleged trafficking network. Authorities are also expected to verify every aspect of his statement and establish the role of every person mentioned in the confession.

Beyond the criminal investigation, the case has once again drawn attention to the devastating impact of child trafficking in Nigeria. It highlights how children can allegedly become victims through people they know and trust, including family friends and close associates. The confession also underscores the challenges facing law enforcement agencies as trafficking syndicates increasingly rely on trusted relationships and carefully coordinated operations to evade detection.

For the family of the child whom Onome admitted was his friend’s son, the confession represents a painful account of an alleged betrayal by someone they believed they could trust. For investigators, it presents another opportunity to dismantle a network accused of profiting from the exploitation of vulnerable children.