The Imo State Police Command has arrested two child snatching gangs whose businesses are to snatch children at gun point and trade them.
The police also rescued two children stolen from their parents more than a month ago.
This is even as the pupils of the St. Joseph The Walker Nursery and Primary School Nekede Mechanic Village, Owerri foiled an attempt by two young men to lure one of them away with an intention
of kidnapping him.
Parading the suspects before newsmen on Monday in Owerri, the State Commissioner of Police, Muhammad Katsina disclosed that his men arrested the first gang of five who went to Naifor-Ugbodogwu in Ovia North East LGA of Edo State where they kidnapped a three year-old boy, Nse Itere, in front of their compound. The little boy, according to the police boss, was stolen by one Nelson Dumdiri Okoji from Aniocha South LGA of Delta State through his girlfriend in Benin, who lured the boy out of their compound in the pretext that he was being taken to see his mother who was watching football match in the field. “They brought him to Ubah Agwa in Oguta
LGA in the house of one Haggai Eromaka who in company of his girlfriend, Oluchi, took the innocent child to Dr. Francis Onyekoro from Amaimo in IkeduruLGA, Imo State, a homeopathic practitioner who has been impersonating as a medical doctor at Godswill Divine Hospital, Eneka (PortHarcourt) in Rivers State”, Mr. Katsina said.
The CP disclosed that Onyekoro who is a fake doctor bought the child at N250,000 and in turn sold him to a retired nurse, Mrs. Ngozi Samuel Chukwuka, a notorious child trafficker from Amumara in Ezinihitte Mbaise LGA who runs a patent medicine shop (Heart Love) at No. 5 School Road/Oparaugo Street, Owerri and had been severally involved in previous case. The Police Chief added that Mrs. Chukwuka bought the little Nse at the cost of N500,000 which was given to her by one Mrs. Onyekaozuru as an advance payment for the baby boy.
He said the suspects were arrested when they tried to move the little boy to PortHarcourt but one of them escaped with the baby while the rest were arrested with three pistols.
Their arrest and subsequent interrogation, he said, encouraged detectives to move to Godswill Divine Hospital, Eneka and arrested the recipient, Dr. Onyekoro who led the police to Owerri where he had sold the boy to Mrs Chukwuka at the sum of N500,000.
The Police Commissioner also paraded a three-man gang whose modus operandi was to snatch children from their mothers while they are being breast fed at gun point. The gang which had been smashed by the police allegedly had the following as notorious suspects: Mrs. Florence Ogbonna from Uturu in Abia State with his son, Innocent Ogbonna who resides in Umudim Lokpanta in Umunneochi LGA of Abia State and Chinweokwu Owunna from Ndiakunwanta
in Anambra State. Mr. Katsina said they snatched a baby girl at gun point from her mother but the police arrested them and rescued the child who was traced to Lokpanta in Umunneochi LGA, Abia State. He disclosed that the leader of the gang, Mrs Florence Ogbonna had been arrested severally in the past.
According to the CP, she was on February 8, 2012, she was arrested with children and the sum of N386,000 was recovered from her, adding that on January 1, 2013, she was arrested with three children (victims) and an exhibit Toyota Camry car with number AE 816 YAB (Abuja) while the case was still in court.
Items recovered from them included two locally made pistols with 10 live cartridges, one motorcycle, wraps of
substances suspected to be heroine and Indian hemp, a wrap of juju, drugs and hospital documents, etc.
The police boss explained that the gangs move in three formidable structures made up of hunters whose role is to snatch children at gun point and handover to the couriers trained to beat all security apparatuses as they escape to their destinations and the landlord who harbours, negotiates and sells the human product to their nocturnal buyers. He appealed to parents, community elders and other stakeholders to always monitor the movement of their kids and to report any suspicious presence of persons to the nearest police station or call
07031558923, 08033400618, 08033424051 0r 08108645753.
Meanwhile, school pupils of St. Joseph The Walker Nursery and Primary School, Nekede Mechanic Village, have foiled an attempt to kidnap one of them. Narrating the story to worshippers at the St. Joseph The Walker Catholic Church, the parish priest, Rev. Fr. Anselm Onyeka penultimate Sunday said two men who came to the church/school premises penultimate Wednesday lured one of the pupils with biscuits but as they were moving away into the waiting tricycle(keke), some of the children raised an alarm, prompting some passers-by to come in.
This caused the men to escape, leaving the little boy behind.
Consequently, the priest has banned any unapproved visit to the church or school premises beyond 8am on working days
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