Ondo Police Arrest 3 Suspected Child Traffickers, Recover 14 Children

Operatives of the Ondo State Police Command have arrested a three-person syndicate specializing in child stealing and trafficking. The suspects, Sabira Izuorah (a 62-year-old woman), and Isiaka Lukman (42) and Abosede Lukman (23), a couple, were apprehended following a report of a missing child at the Okuta Elerin-Nla Police Division in Akure, the state capital.

The Commissioner of Police in Ondo State, Wilfred Afolabi, paraded the suspects at the State Police Command headquarters in Akure, where he revealed that 14 children had been recovered from the traffickers. The children included four babies aged between one week and two months and 10 others aged between two and seven years.

Details of the Arrest:

The investigation began after a complaint was filed about a missing child. According to the police, the couple, Isiaka Lukman and Abosede Lukman, initially approached the complainant under the guise of being siblings. While the couple engaged the complainant, Abosede, pretending to be interested in purchasing biscuits for the child, distracted her. Meanwhile, Isiaka lured the complainant to Olukayode Plaza in the market to ostensibly purchase a mobile phone, abandoning her there. Upon returning to her shop, the complainant discovered her child was missing, and Abosede was nowhere to be found.

The Ondo State Police Command tracked the couple to Ottah Village in Edo State through intelligence-led policing, where they were arrested. Upon interrogation, the couple confessed to abducting children from Ondo and Osun States and selling them to Sabira Izuorah, a buyer located in Ihiala, Anambra State, at the rate of ₦1 million per child.

The police were then able to trace Sabira Izuorah to her residence in Ihiala, where they found four babies in her custody. The 62-year-old woman, who hails from Ihiala, was arrested for being the buyer in the trafficking ring.

The Trafficking Network:

According to CP Wilfred Afolabi, the investigation revealed that the suspects had been operating a child trafficking syndicate, abducting children from different states and selling them for large sums. The couple’s modus operandi involved targeting vulnerable mothers, deceiving them, and then kidnapping their children, whom they would later sell to Sabira Izuorah for trafficking purposes.

The suspects’ arrests mark a significant victory for the Ondo State Police in dismantling a dangerous trafficking network, and authorities are continuing investigations to uncover the full extent of the syndicate’s activities. The police also pledged to assist the families of the recovered children in reuniting them with their loved ones.

CP Afolabi further emphasized the importance of continued vigilance and community cooperation in combatting child trafficking and other forms of criminal activity.