33 underage girls freed as Anambra police dismantle child trafficking ring

By : Guardian Nigeria

Date: 7 January 2026 9:03pm WAT

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Anambra police spokesman, Tochukwu Ikenga

Anambra police spokesman, Tochukwu Ikenga

The Anambra State Police Command has uncovered a child trafficking operation in Awkuzu, Oyi Local Government Area, rescuing 33 underage girls from a compound believed to be used for illicit activities. The raid, carried out by officers from the Rapid Response Squad in Awkuzu, followed an investigation into cases of kidnapping, abduction, and missing children.

In a statement released on Wednesday, the Command’s spokesman, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, confirmed that three girls abducted in Ebonyi State on 26 September 2025 were among those found. “Operatives of the Anambra State Police Command attached to the Rapid Response Squad Awkuzu on January 7, 2026, recorded a breakthrough in an ongoing investigation involving a case of kidnapping, abduction, missing children and child trafficking,” he said.

Ikenga identified the arrested suspect as 37-year-old Ifeoma Success Anthony. He added that the operation was triggered by a distress report from relatives of the missing girls, who had received information that the children—Divine Mbam, aged 14; Nwagu Favour, aged 15; and Oke Blessing, aged 18—had been sighted at Emma Pigin Road, Aguleri. According to preliminary findings, the building where the girls were discovered is allegedly linked to child trafficking and prostitution.

It is reportedly owned by a woman named Mrs Ngozi Nnanyelugo, aged 45, who is currently on the run. “Efforts are currently ongoing to arrest the principal suspect, while investigations continue to determine the full extent of the crime and identify other accomplices,” Ikenga stated.

The police have reiterated their commitment to safeguarding vulnerable children and called on the public to provide any information that could assist ongoing investigations. This latest development follows a similar incident reported on 29 October 2025, when the Command rescued a newborn baby girl and arrested four women in Ifite-Awkuzu, also in Oyi Local Government Area.

That operation, also led by the Rapid Response Squad, was based on credible intelligence and involved charges of conspiracy and child trafficking. Ikenga said the Command remains focused on protecting lives and dismantling networks that exploit children, urging continued public cooperation.

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