Three suspects for child trafficking have been taken into custody by Akwa Ibom State Police Command agents.
Utibeabasi Monday Enang of Obot Akara, Akwa Ibom; Mary Eunice in Asaba, Delta; and Bella Uko in Aba, Abia were among the suspects detained across three states.
The Akwa Ibom Commissioner of Police, Olatoye Durosinmi, paraded them alongside other suspects of various crimes on Wednesday at the police headquarters in Ikot Akpanabia, Uyo. He explained that Utibeabasi Enang had deceived Peace Patrick Paul and taken her two children, who are three and five years old, in May before selling them to Bella Uko in Aba, who then sold them to Mary Eunice in Asaba.
When the mother of the kidnapped children requested her children from the suspect and had to run for her life, according to Durosinmi, she was nearly beaten to death.
The 11-year-old daughter of Emmanuel Macauley Daniel of Ikot Ikot Village in Obot Akara LGA was stolen, according to the commissioner of police, who also revealed the arrest of a female suspect, Alayodi Paul Onyekwere of Abroma, Rivers State.
He said: “The suspect claimed that her grandmother had ordered her to kidnap the infant, which she later helped investigators find in Rivers State. The youngsters are present today and will meet up with their relatives.
Peace Patrick, the mother of the two children, claimed in an interview that the suspect tricked her by saying he would take her to an Ikot Abasi hospital to receive medical attention but then tried to kill her after taking her children somewhere she didn’t know.
She said: “After she took me to the hospital in Ikot Abasi, where it was determined that I had internal heat, she transported me to the homes of her various lovers, where we lived for more than three weeks. She promised to take me to where my kids were when I started asking about them.
She told the driver to halt at a bridge as we were travelling since we would have to cross it. She began beating me when we were attempting to cross the bridge and tried to force me into the river, but I fought her off until a nearby resident came to save me. He transported me to his residence, where I called someone to send me money because she had taken my phone.
“When I got back to my village, I told the local chairman about the problem, and he informed the Yak Iyamma organisation about it. I’m so grateful to God that my kids were discovered in the end.
Sunday Michael Ben, a man charged with raping his daughter, 6, was also displayed.
During questioning, the suspect claimed: “I had my kid with me in the house, and that night, I woke up to replace my heater that was broken since there was light. I refrained from touching her. I think my girlfriend, who was present in the house with me, did it. She had bloodstains on her leg, which I didn’t see until the next morning.
The victim said that someone had touched her at night but that she was unable to communicate or identify the offender.
The accused would be charged in court following the completion of investigations, according to the police commissioner.
