RIVERS POLICE ARREST WOMAN OVER ALLEGED TRAFFICKING, RESCUE 16 CHILDREN

Read Time:1 Minute, 49 Second

A woman was detained by the Rivers State Police Command on suspicion of trafficking in persons, and sixteen children were rescued from her custody at Ozuoba in the Obio/Akpor local government area of the state.

The woman was reported to have been seen returning home with several youngsters, some of whom she claimed to have brought from churches and other unidentified locations. Some locals were reported to have voiced concerns about her actions.

Speaking in private, a woman from the estate claimed that they had been watching the woman for a while and counting the number of kids she had.

She said: “This lady was doing child trafficking, picking people’s children from churches and different communities in Rivers state.

“So just yesterday (Saturday) some people held the woman and called the Ozuoba Police. The Police came, arrested her and took the children away.”

Another resident said the woman had been staying in the compound in the last two years with different children.

He said: “The police said they came from Akwa Ibom State and that the woman is a child trafficking suspect. For two years the woman has been staying in the compound with the children, almost 200 children, some coming and going.

“At night I don’t sleep, they will be beating mortar till today that they (police) came to arrest her and take the children away”, he said.

When contacted, spokesperson of the state police command, Grace Iringe-Koko, confirmed the incident, saying 16 children were rescued from an estate in the area.

Iringe-Koko, a Superintendent of Police said: “I can confirm the rescue of the children based on intelligence gathering. The Ozoaba team acting on a tip off went there and the children were rescued from the estate within Ozuoba. 16 children in total.

“The case has been transferred to the Commissioner of Police Monitoring Unit for discreet investigation.”

She said the police were still investigating to know the number of suspects involved, adding that one person had been arrested.

“Yes, an arrest has been made from the information I got but like I said investigation is ongoing to find out if there are others involved,” she said.

Happy
Happy
0 %
Sad
Sad
0 %
Excited
Excited
0 %
Sleepy
Sleepy
0 %
Angry
Angry
0 %
Surprise
Surprise
0 %