The Anambra State Police Command has arrested a northern woman allegedly trying to sell two boys, between the ages of two and four, with the help of two native female collaborators.
Speaking exclusively to Kano Focus on Saturday, Haruna Mohammed, Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) of the command, said the woman (whose name was not revealed) could not give a satisfactory explanation of her relationship to the rescued boys.
This development came just as Governor Abdullahi Ganduje formed a committee to probe the abduction, renaming and forceful conversion of nine native Kano children to Christianity by an Igbo criminal gang, who were arrested by the Kano State Police Command.
The nine children were also sold into slavery in Onistsha, Anambra state, before they were rescued by the police.
Mr Mohammed, a superintendent of police (SP) said the northern woman was believed to have trafficked the two kids from the Northern part of the country to sell them off in Anambra, in cahoots with other members of the trafficking syndicate.
According to him, the northern woman had claimed that one of the boys was her biological son, while the other was the son of her elder sister, who she claimed to be deceased.
SP Mohammed however, said the northern suspect failed to reveal the name of her son’s father, saying she had the boy out of wedlock and could not remember who his father was.
“We asked her the name of her husband, meaning the father of the boy she claimed was her son, but she said she didn’t know the boy’s father because she had him out of wedlock,” he said.
“We believe that she has no relationship with both boys. We suspect that she brought the victims from the north to sell them with the help of the two other woman who are natives,” Mr Mohammed added.
He said the police did not reveal the identities of the suspects so as to get to other members of the criminal kidnap network.
“We are currently interrogating them. If we reveal their names, it might cause other members of the criminal syndicate to flee,” he said.
Earlier, Mr Mohammed, in a statement had said the three women were nabbed on Tuesday by police detectives at Nkpor market/Tarzan junction in Idemili North local government area of Anambra state.
“On the 22/10/2019 at about 10:45am,following intelligence report Police detectives attached to CMU Anambra State Command arrested three female suspects at Nkpor market/Tarzan junction in Idemili North LGA of Anambra State.
“Suspects were arrested with two kids all males whose age ranges between 2 and 4 years respectively.
“They could neither give satisfactory explanation about the children nor where they got them.
“Case is under investigation after which suspects would be charged to court for prosecution.
“Consequently, the Commissioner of Police CP John B.Abang,fdc urges Parents whose children got missing and fall within the above age bracket to report at the PPRO office State Command headquarters Awka for proper identification and collect their children, please,” the statement read.
