Police arraign eight-man child trafficking syndicate in Niger

By : Bala Yahaya

Date: 16 December 2025 8:55am WAT

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Suspect of child trafficker in court yesterday

Suspect of child trafficker in court yesterday

Operatives of the Anti-Kidnapping Squad of the Niger State Police Command have arraigned eight suspected child traffickers before Minna Chief Magistrate’s Court.

Head of the Squad, DSP Ahmed Sa’idu, led the team to arrest the suspects in Nasarawa State for being in possession of stolen children from various parts of Niger.

The defendants include Leo Ugochukwu, Ngozi Ugochukwu, Henrietta Obiako and Rosemary Ogbulogo. Others, according to police First Information Report (FIR), were Chiroma Onyaja, Vincent Emmanuel, Joy Ndife and Olusegun Isaiah, all of Nyanya in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and Nasarawa.

They were charged on eight counts bordering on criminal conspiracy, kidnapping, concealing or keeping kidnapped/abducted persons, dealing in human beings, child stealing, trafficking in persons, indecent treatment of children, wrongful confinement and wrongful confinement in secret.

The FIR marked MMC/CMC/74/25 Report (FIR), made available in court, noted that the eight charges were punishable under Section 60 (2),(a) (1), 211, 238 and 239 of the Niger State penal code.

The Police Prosecutor, Inspector Aliyu Kuta, told the court that on November 5, 2025, about 3.00pm, Victoria Ebunoha of Loko, Karu Local Council of Nasarawa, was arrested at Dikko Junction in possession of three male children suspected to be stolen.

During interrogation, she confessed to have stolen the children from Lambata in Gurara Local Council of Niger State, heading to Nyanya in FCT to sell them.

On further interrogation, she disclosed that she stole seven other children from their parents, namely, Mohammed Bala, Danlami Zhami, Bello Usman and others at Lambata and Sabon Wuse.”

The stolen children, according to the prosecutor, were sold to Leo Ugochukwu of Loko, at the rate of N1.1 million.

“On further interrogation, they all confessed to have intentionally purchased the children from Ebunoha, knowing fully that the children were stolen by her,” he stated.

When the charges were read to them by the presiding Chief Magistrate, Murtala Ibrahim, they all pleaded not guilty, while Kuta applied for a new date for further mention of the case.

He also prayed the court to remand them in Minna Old Correctional Centre till the next adjourned date. The Chief Magistrate remanded  them and adjourned till January 5, 2026, for further mention.

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