The suspects further stated that they steal and sell the children by conspiring with Social Welfare officers of some ministries

Lafia, Nasarawa State– The Nasarawa State Police Command has arrested twelve members of a child trafficking syndicate operating within the state for theft and sale of forty-five children.

Parading the suspects on Friday, February 16, 2024, at the Police Command Headquarters in Lafia, the State Commissioner of Police, CP Shehu Umar Nadada, said a total of 57 suspects were arrested by the command from January 01 to date.

The police boss gives the breakdown of the suspects including 3 suspected kidnappers, 3 armed robbery suspects and twenty suspected fraudsters.

Others are suspects arrested in different locations in the state for rape and motorcycle/vehicle theft.

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“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.

He sated that upon enquiry, it was discovered that the man, Ismaila Adamu, abducted a 5yrs old boy at Tsohon Kasuwa, Keffi. He was immediately arrested and taken to hospital for treatment while the child 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.

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“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.

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“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. Effort is ongoing to arrest more suspects involved in the commission of the crime and recover more of the stolen children,” he said.

The items recovered from the suspects include fake foreign currency, fire arms and ammunitions, 10 motorcycles and 02 vehicles among others as exhibits.