Jubilation in Bayelsa community after police recovered two children stolen and sold for N1.6m by child traffickers posing as tenants
The weekend saw celebration in the Igbogene community in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State when police found two kids who had been taken by alleged child traffickers and sold to buyers for N1.6m.
Success Kemebigha, 4, and Prince Kemebigha, 2, were kidnapped two weeks after the suspects, Chioma Obi and Sunday Aniele, pretended to be tenants and moved into the compound on June 19, 2023.
The child trafficking ring was busted and the children were saved in Enugu and Abia State by members of the Bayelsa State Police Command’s Gender Unit and State Criminal Investigation Department.
In a statement, the command’s spokesperson, SP Asinim Butswat, stated that Sunday Aniele and Chioma Obi had been detained in Ughelli, Delta State. Kingsley Chimobi and Harriet Chukwu, their accomplices, were apprehended in Onitsha, Anambra State.
The suspects admitted to have collected 1,000,000,600 for the two kids.
In the meantime, Mrs. Faith Opene, the Bayelsa State Commissioner for Women, Children Affairs, Empowerment and Social Development, has urged parents to watch out for their kids.
On Monday, July 24, she made the call as she was delivering two children to their parents, Ms. Rosemary Adi and Ms. Faith Seiya, in her office.
Before renting out their homes, landlords were urged by the commissioner to exercise due diligence.
” I call on Parents to be Vigilant with their children, don’t allow your children to go out alone with your neighbours, you don’t know who is a child trafficker. Landlords should also do due diligence before giving out their houses for rent,” Opene stated.
Opene also commended the Nigerian Police for their quick intervention in the situation