AWKA – The Anambra State Police Command has arrested three women over their alleged involvement in child trafficking.
The suspects, identified as Florence Nnakuzie, 45, Hannah Ugah, 52, and Chinasa Daniel, 27, were arrested by operatives attached to the Awada Divisional Headquarters at a motor park in Onitsha.
The police spokesperson, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, said preliminary investigations revealed that Daniel allegedly brought two children—a two-week-old baby and a four-year-old child—on separate occasions between June and December 2025 and handed them over to Ugah.
According to Ikenga, Daniel further disclosed that the four-year-old child was subsequently handed over to Nnakuzie and allegedly sold for N2 million, while the infant was reportedly sold to another woman who is currently at large.
The Commissioner of Police, Ikioye Orutugu, described child trafficking as a grave violation of human rights and a crime against humanity. He directed the immediate transfer of the case to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Awka, for a thorough investigation.
Orutugu also ordered operatives to intensify efforts to arrest other members of the trafficking syndicate, rescue the trafficked children and reunite them with their biological families. He commended members of the public whose timely information led to the arrests and urged residents to continue providing credible intelligence.
Meanwhile, the Ogun State Police Command said operatives of its Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) Unit arrested 43 suspects during a raid on a notorious criminal hideout at Isheri-Olofin, opposite the Kara Cattle Market along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.
The police spokesperson, DSP Omolola Odutola Babasehinde, said the operation, carried out on July 7 under Operation Kosaye, followed intelligence linking the location to cultism, drug abuse, prostitution and other criminal activities.
She said 28 men and 15 women were arrested, while suspected cannabis, “Loud” and other hard drugs, 10 mobile phones, four power banks, ATM cards, a National Identity Card and other exhibits were recovered.
According to the command, all 43 suspects have been charged to court and remanded in a correctional facility on offences including criminal conspiracy, unlawful society, unlawful assembly, drug-related offences, prostitution and operating an unlicensed brothel.
The police said the latest prosecution brings the number of suspects charged under Operation Kosaye to 76.
Commissioner of Police Bode Ojajuni reaffirmed the command’s commitment to dismantling criminal hideouts across the state and urged residents to continue supporting the police with timely and credible information.
