By Wole Mosadomi
Minna – Eight suspected child traffickers have been arraigned before a Minna Chief Magistrate Court One following their arrest in Nasarawa State by operatives of the Niger State Police Command’s Anti-Kidnapping Squad. The operation was led by the Squad’s head, Deputy Superintendent of Police Ahmed Sa’idu.
The suspects—Leo Ugochukwu, Ngozi Ugochukwu, Henrietta Obiako, Rosemary Ogbulogo, Chiroma Onyaja, Vincent Emmanuel, Joy Ndife, and Olusegun Isaiah—are residents of Nyanya in the Federal Capital Territory and Nasarawa State.
They face eight-count charges including criminal conspiracy, kidnapping, concealing kidnapped persons, child stealing, trafficking in persons, indecent treatment of children, and wrongful confinement, all punishable under sections 60(2)(a)(1), 211, 238, and 239 of the Niger State Penal Code Law.
According to the police, the case began on November 5, 2025, when Victorian Ebunoha of Loko, Karu Local Government Area, Nasarawa State, was apprehended at Dikko Junction with three male children suspected to have been stolen. During interrogation, she reportedly confessed to abducting the children from Lambata in Gurara Local Government Area of Niger State and transporting them to Nyanya, FCT, with intent to sell them. Further investigations led to the recovery of six additional children.
When the charges were read before Chief Magistrate Murtala Bala Ibrahim, all eight suspects pleaded not guilty. The police prosecutor, Inspector Aliyu Yakub Kuta, requested a new date for further mention and prayed the court to remand the suspects in custody.
Chief Magistrate Ibrahim ordered the suspects to be held at the Old Minna Correctional Custody and adjourned the case to January 5, 2026, for further mention.
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