POLICE ARREST DOCTOR OVER ALLEGED CHILD TRAFFICKING, FORGERY IN ENUGU

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Dr. Emmanuel Ugwumba has been detained by the Enugu State Police Command on charges of child trafficking and forgery in the state’s Udenu Local Government Area.

Daniel Ndukwe, the command’s public relations officer, confirmed the arrest in a statement made Wednesday.

According to the announcement, officials from the command’s anti-kidnapping tactical squad apprehended Ugwumba on September 28.

The statement added, “The suspect was arrested following credible intelligence that linked him to a child trafficking network.

“His arrest followed the interception of a public notice on an abandoned child he made, endorsed in the name of the Enugu State Ministry of Gender and Social Development as the director of OTZ, and published in the Daily Sun Newspaper of September 27, 2024.

“Upon his arrest, he was found to be involved in child trafficking with one pregnant woman, the four-year-old child, and another two-year-old child, both female, being rescued.

“Investigation revealed that the suspect, who claimed to be a graduate of medicine and surgery from the University of Jos, owns and manages Chima Hospital and Maternity located at Ugbaike Enugu-Ezike in Igbo-Eze North Local Government Area.

“It was further discovered that between 2017 and 2024, he conspired with an acclaimed staff of the ministry and others at large to conduct ante-natal care and delivery of seven yet-to-be-traced children from different mothers in the hospital.

“The suspect was also found with different documents from the Ministry of Gender Affairs and unverified pest/vector certificates from the Enugu State Ministry of Environment and Mineral Resources.

“He was today, October 9, 2024, arraigned in court and remanded in the Nigerian Correctional Custodial Centre, pending further hearing.”