Owerri: The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps has arrested six suspects, including a 52-year-old man and five pregnant women, over an alleged child trafficking operation in Imo State.
Furthermore, the command stated that it rescued five newborn babies from the suspects. The NSCDC Commandant in Imo, Mr Basil Igwebueze, said this in Owerri on Saturday while briefing newsmen on the command’s recent exploits.
Igwebueze said the suspects were caught at an orphanage. The group included an alleged accomplice, Godwin Nnamdi, 47. They were carrying out their illicit activities there.
According to him, events began on March 14 when one of his officers saw a pregnant teenager running away from the orphanage at the World Bank area of Owerri, the Imo capital.
“This prompted my officers to move into action at the orphanage, arrest the owner of the orphanage and rescue the pregnant women and newborn babies,” he said.
Igwebueze described child trafficking as a “heinous crime” and appealed to Imo residents to ‘say something, when they He advised residents to report suspicious persons and activities promptly to security agencies. or”Without the residents’ help and information, the command would not have uncovered this crime,” he said. Na Ogaranya, the orphanage owner, claimed the orphanage was certified and denied involvement in child trafficking.
She recalled how one 33-year-old, identified simply as Chiamaka, came into the orphanage pregnant, having allegedly escaped from the man who impregnated her. She said she contacted the Police, who promised to travel with Chiamaka to Abia to arrest the alleged perpetrator.o arrest the man.
She said she was surprised when her workers called to inform her that Chiamaka had scaled the compound’s fence and was later caught by the local vigilantes.
Chiamaka, who hails from Ikeduru Local Government Area of the state, said that she was introduced by someone she could hardly identify to the orphanage, where she could deliver and sell the baby. She said that, unable to cope at the orphanage, she climbed the fence and ran for her life, or her dear life.
Igwebueze said that the suspects would be arraigned for prosecution.
