The police at the Bridgehead in Onitsha, Anambra state, rescued a one-month-old baby being trafficked by a couple from Lagos and placed them under arrest.
The interception of the suspects followed a call by a passenger traveling with them in the same vehicle, as disclosed in a statement by the state police spokesperson, Tochukwu Ikenga.
He reported that the suspects confessed to buying the child from the mother in Ajah, Lagos, for N30,000.
He added that the suspects have been handed over to the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) for further investigation and prosecution.
Tochukwu also said that the baby has been handed to the Ministry of Women Affairs for care by the state government.
He said, “The police in Anambra state have arrested a couple trafficking a one-month-old baby from Lagos. The interception was made at the Bridgehead in Onitsha on 17th December 2023.
“The couple was traveling in a luxury bus belonging to a popular transport company with the baby when a co-passenger observed that the mother could not breastfeed the baby despite its cry for food during the journey. “The good Samaritan put a call through to the Anambra Police on its Control Room hotline in Awka, which then relayed the information to the police at the Bridgehead in Onitsha. “The police laid in wait for the luxury bus described and intercepted it in the evening hours. The couple and the baby were identified and brought down for questioning.
“They confessed to buying the child from its mother in Ajah, Lagos, for the sum of N30,000.” “The Commissioner of Police, CP Aderemi Adeoye, who thanked the public-spirited citizen for his humane concern in giving the information that led to the rescue of the child, commended police operatives for their vigilance and dedication to duty.
“He has directed that the couple be handed over to the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) for further investigation and prosecution.
“Meanwhile, the baby has been handed over to the Ministry of Women Affairs for care by the state government.”
