A 17 year old boy has been arrested with his accomplice, Chigozie Ogbonna, a 29-year-old man for impregnating 10 ladies and allegedly using them for child trafficking.
According to the police, it was alleged that the two suspects and two other ladies, Favour Bright, 30 and Peace Alikoi, 40 were running an illegal baby factory.
According to the Rivers Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Grace Iringe-Koko, the arrests were made following a tipoff.
In a statement made by the police boss, the four suspects worked in the Obio/Akpor and Ikwerre local areas of the state (Nigeria) before they got arrested.
She also said that the 10 pregnant ladies were saved by officers after the raid.
“On Saturday, January 7, 2023, around 4:45 pm, while acting on credible intelligence available to the Rivers State Police Command, C4I Intelligence Unit operatives raided two houses at Igwuruta and Omagwa communities respectively, where victims of child trafficking were being kept.
“The victims rescued in the operation are 10, most of them pregnant,” Iringe-Koko, a Superintendent of Police mentioned in the statement.
She also said that after investigations, it was discovered that when a victim gives birth to a baby, the syndicate leader keeps the baby and pay the mother a sum of N500,000.
“All the victims confessed that they were lured to the illicit sales of children because of the need to meet some financial challenge,” she added.
A Honda Pilot Jeep, white, was recovered from the syndicate leader.
The case has therefore been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) for a follow up investigation and possible prosecution of the arrested suspects.
Investigations are also underway to help arrest the buyers as well.