POLICE ARREST FOUR WOMEN OVER CHILD TRAFFICKING IN ANAMBRA, RESCUE ONE-WEEK-OLD BABY
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By Aishat Momoh. O.
The Anambra State Police Command has arrested four women in connection with an alleged case of child trafficking in Ifite-Awkuzu, Oyi Local Government Area of the state.
The development was disclosed in a statement issued on Tuesday by the command’s spokesperson, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, who said that operatives of the Rapid Response Squad (RRS), Awkuzu, carried out the operation following credible intelligence.
According to Ikenga, the operatives stormed a facility identified as Mama Maternity in the early hours of Tuesday, where they rescued a one-week-old baby girl and arrested the suspects.
The statement read: “The Anambra State Police Command, through its operatives attached to the Rapid Response Squad, Awkuzu, in the early hours of Tuesday, acting on credible intelligence, stormed a location identified as Mama Maternity situated at Ifite-Awkuzu, Oyi Local Government Area.
During the raid, the operatives rescued a one-week-old baby girl and arrested four female suspects in connection with a case of conspiracy and child trafficking.”
Those arrested have been identified as Elizabeth Okafor (62 years), Esther Nweke (48 years), Ngozi Maanfa (45 years), and Peace Elijah Moses (25 years).
Preliminary investigations revealed that the suspects conspired to purchase the newborn baby for ₦1.7 million. They reportedly paid an advance sum of ₦350,000 to the baby’s purported biological mother, Peace Elijah Moses, who was also among those arrested.
Ikenga confirmed that the baby has been rescued and placed under protective care, while the Commissioner of Police, CP Ikioye Orutugu, has ordered that the case be transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Gender Unit, Awka, for discreet investigation and prosecution.
“The CP also reaffirmed the Command’s unwavering commitment to the protection of children and the ongoing fight against all forms of human trafficking in the state,” the statement added.
This latest arrest follows an earlier breakthrough in July 2025, when the command busted an interstate child-stealing and trafficking syndicate operating in Uruagu, Nnewi North LGA. That operation, conducted in collaboration with Adamawa State Police, led to the arrest of a suspect and the rescue of 11 children — five boys and six girls — who were allegedly abducted and sold to unsuspecting adoptive families for ₦1.5 million (boys) and ₦800,000 (girls) respectively.
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