ABAKALIKI – The Ebonyi State Police Command has smashed a major child-trafficking syndicate operating across several southeastern states, leading to the arrest of multiple suspects, including two government social welfare officers, and the recovery of three abducted children.
The breakthrough followed months of painstaking investigation by police operatives, which exposed a sophisticated network that lured unsuspecting mothers, drugged a vulnerable woman, and falsified adoption documents to sell children for millions of Naira.
According to a press statement released by the Command's Public Relations Officer, SP Joshua Ukandu, the investigation commenced in May 2026 after a complainant, Mrs. Ngwe Ukamaka, reported that her two children—a five-month-old baby boy and an 11-year-old girl—had been abducted. The suspects had allegedly deceived her under the guise of marriage, took her to Awgu in Enugu State to meet her supposed "in-laws," and vanished with her children after sending her to a hair salon.
The syndicate’s operations began to unravel on August 14, 2026, when police operatives arrested four suspects: Agu Okechukwu, Ndidi Kenneth Nwanga, Ugonma Igwe, and Alagba Chinyere. The four were implicated in a separate incident where another victim, Mrs. Oluchi Onah, was lured to Enugu under the false pretext of a job offer. Much like the first victim, Mrs. Onah was abandoned at a hair salon by Okechukwu while her two-year-old child was stolen and handed over to a buyer.
Mrs. Onah’s child has since been recovered and reunited with her family. Okechukwu’s run of luck ended on August 12, 2026, when he attempted to target another mother using the same modus operandi. The woman grew suspicious and alerted the police, triggering a chain of arrests.
Subsequent confessions led detectives to Okigwe, Imo State, where a prominent suspect, Mrs. Benedicta Umeh (popularly known as Nwanyi Okigwe), was arrested alongside Obinna Nwankpa and Mmekadinma Oledibe. During this raid, operatives recovered a three-year-old child who had allegedly been sold by Umeh to Oledibe for ₦2,500,000.
The expanding investigation further led to the arrest of Favour Chukwu and Ugochukwu Nwankpa, who confessed to a chilling operation in the Holy Ghost area of Enugu. The duo admitted to lacing the food of a mentally challenged homeless woman with sleeping pills and stealing her child while she slept. They subsequently presented themselves as the child's biological parents before complicit social welfare officials to facilitate an illegal adoption.
Deepening the conspiracy, the police arrested Ebere Anayo and Chinyere Nwakanma, two social welfare officers attached to the Obowo Local Government Area of Imo State. Preliminary findings indicate that the civil servants actively abused their offices to facilitate the illegal handover of stolen children to prospective buyers under the guise of legitimate adoptions or fostering.
On September 27, 2026, the trail led operatives to Port Harcourt, Rivers State, where one Franca Omire was arrested, and Mrs. Ukamaka's baby boy—who was abducted in May—was successfully recovered. Upon interrogation, Omire claimed she was deceived into believing Umeh ran a legitimate orphanage affiliated with the Obowo Local Government welfare office. She stated she paid ₦2,500,000 in July 2026 and was issued fraudulent documents to make the adoption appear legal.
The Commissioner of Police, Ebonyi State Command, CP Hope Urunwa Okafor, commended the operatives for their professionalism and diligence in dismantling the cross-state syndicate. She assured the public that the Command is intensifying its efforts to track down all remaining accomplices and recover the missing 11-year-old girl who remains in the hands of the syndicate.
CP Okafor strongly cautioned individuals looking to foster or adopt children to exercise extreme vigilance. She urged prospective parents to deal exclusively with appropriate, verified government channels and to desist from relying on private individuals, informal brokers, or unverified documentation. All suspects are expected to face the full weight of the law upon the conclusion of investigations.
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