Operatives of the Anti-Kidnapping Squad of the Niger State Police Command have arraigned eight alleged members of a child-trafficking network before Minna Chief Magistrate Court I for reportedly trafficking and selling children.
The suspects were arrested by the squad under the leadership of its commander, DSP Ahmed Sa’idu, and were subsequently charged before the court.
Police sources disclosed that the suspects were apprehended in Nasarawa State while allegedly in possession of children believed to have been abducted from different locations across Niger State.
Those arraigned include Leo Ugochukwu, Ngozi Ugochukwu, Henrietta Obiako, Rosemary Ogbulogo, Chiroma Onyaja, Vincent Emmanuel, Joy Ndife, and Olusegun Isaiah, said to be residents of Nyanya in the Federal Capital Territory and parts of Nasarawa State.
They were charged on eight counts bordering on criminal conspiracy, kidnapping, concealment of kidnapped persons, human trafficking, child stealing, trafficking in persons, indecent treatment of minors, wrongful confinement, and confinement in secret locations.
According to the Police First Information Report (FIR) marked MMC/CMC/74/25 and presented before the court, the offences are punishable under Sections 60(2)(a)(1), 211, 238, and 239 of the Niger State Penal Code Law.
The police prosecutor, Inspector Aliyu Yakub Kuta, informed the court that on November 5, 2025, at about 3:00 pm, one Victoria Ebunoha of Loko, Karu Local Government Area of Nasarawa State, was arrested at Dikko Junction while allegedly found with three male children suspected to have been stolen.
“During police interrogation, she confessed to stealing the children from Lambata in Gurara Local Government Area of Niger State and was heading to Nyanya in the FCT to sell them,” the prosecutor said.
He added that further questioning revealed that she had abducted seven other children from their parents, including Mohammed Bala, Danlami Zhami, and Bello Usman, among others, in Lambata and Sabon Wuse communities.
According to the prosecutor, the stolen children were sold to Leo Ugochukwu of Loko at the rate of ₦1.1 million per child.
“Further investigation revealed that all the accused persons confessed to intentionally purchasing the children from Victoria Ebunoha, knowing that the children were stolen,” he added.
When the charges were read to the defendants by the presiding Chief Magistrate, Murtala Bala Ibrahim, they all entered pleas of not guilty.
The prosecutor subsequently sought an adjournment and requested that the defendants be remanded at the Minna Old Correctional Custody pending further proceedings.
In granting the request, the magistrate ordered their remand and adjourned the matter to January 5, 2026, for mention.
