The Nasarawa State Police Command said it has arrested a 35-year-old woman, Rifkatu Haruna, for allegedly stealing a three-year-old male child in the state with a motive to sell the baby.
Speaking while parading the suspected human trafficker on Wednesday in Lafia, Commissioner of Police, Adesina Soyemi, explained that the suspect was apprehended in Garaku, the headquarter of Kokona Local Government Area in the state.
Soyemi said that the suspect who had been on the wanted list of the Police was arrested following intelligence gathering from officers of the command.
While parading 18 other suspects who were arrested for various crimes in the state, Soyemi added that preliminary investigation into the matter revealed that the woman who collaborated with other criminal elements, stole the baby from Garaku town and wanted to sell him to a Prophetess in Enugu State.
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“The traffickers took the child to Enugu state but could not sell him, so they brought him back. The suspect ran out of luck and was arrested but other accomplices are still on the run.
“We are now trailing other suspects who are still on the run and I promise to do everything within the law to ensure that they are apprehended no matter their status in the society”, he added.
When our correspondent spoke with the suspected human trafficker, she confirmed that she was arrested in Garaku town of Kokona LGA while she was returning the baby to his mother.
She, however, denied belonging to the syndicate, adding that she only helped the woman to rescue her stolen baby.
“I am not a member of the gang and I did not steal the baby. I only wanted to help the mother of the child locate her stolen baby. I am innocent of the crime”, she said.
While warning all criminal elements to leave the state without further delay, Adesina Soyemi said that the suspects will be transferred to the Criminal Investigation Department in Lafia for further investigation after which they would be charged to court for prosecution if found guilty of the offenses.
