WHAT would have driven a man to sell off the fruit of his loins just like a heifer in the market?
This was the raging question in the mouths of many in Abuja, when operatives of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), FCT Command arrested a man while allegedly trying to sell his 8-year-old son for N20m in Abuja.
Commandant, Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Command of NSCDC, Mr Olusola Odumosu, paraded the suspects at the Command’s headquarters.
He disclosed the 42-year-old China Telpesa Solomon Tali was tracked and arrested by the personnel of the command’s intelligence unit on 10th January 2024.
He said the man engaged the service of Pius Aondoakaa, who was also arrested, to find a buyer for the child – fourth of his six children.
“The FCT Commands’ ardent and astute intelligence personnel in their proactive engagements in January 2024, intercepted a father who conspired with another to trade an eight-year-old boy who he claimed to be his child for the sum of N20 million in the FCT.
“Following a tip-off, the suspects were immediately placed under surveillance. One of the suspects Pius Aondoakaa in a quest for a higher bid rejected the sum of N12 Million and was looking for N20 Million Naira for a ‘He-goat’ meaning a boy
“He also offered a ‘she-goat’ (i.e. girl child) for N15 Million Naira. Pius claimed to have a boy child for sale and that the father of the boy wanted to use the proceeds of the sale to take care of his other children,” he said.
Commandant Odumosu added: “In view of this, the acclaimed father of the boy, Mr. China Telpesa Solomon Tali was lured to Abuja on the 10th January 2024 by the FCT Intelligence Personnel who posed as a buyer and agreed on the terms to buy and pay the sum of N20 million.”
Tali in an interview with journalists said he decided to sell his son to get money to feed his other children, blaming hardship for his crime.
He said the son, who was holding onto him while being paraded, didn’t know he was being sold.
The suspects, both Logo Local Government Area of Benue State, were immediately handed over to the operatives of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) for further investigation and prosecution.
Similarly, the NSCDC FCT Command also paraded a 23-year-old man, Yakubu Mati, caught in the act of vandalism of armoured cable along the Idu Metro Railway Lines.
He was arrested in possession of a hoe, a saw blade, and a lighter.
Odumosu said investigations on the suspect had been concluded, adding that he would be arraigned in the court without delay.
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