The Zone 2 Police Command, Onikan, Lagos State, has rescued a baby who was sold for N1.5 million in Lagos and later recovered in Owerri, Imo State, following a crackdown on a notorious child trafficking syndicate operating across the country.
The Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG) in charge of the zone, Adegoke Fayoade, while addressing newsmen over the weekend disclosed that the operation was carried out through coordinated efforts with other security and government agencies.
The police also arrested eight suspects and recovered four other stolen children from different locations.
Represented by DCP Ajao, he identified that the eight suspects arrested as Ibezim Chioma Rita, Sunday Ochim, Sunday Okputu, Sunday Faith, Chinaza Echelibe, Ifekwuna Ngozi, Nwakuba Helen, and Bada Adeniyi.
According to the police, the syndicate specialised in stealing and selling newborns, toddlers, and children of different ages. Among those arrested was 22-year-old Faith Sunday, who sold her biological son.
Among the rescued children were one-year-old Marvellous Obi, Promise Ifekwuna, Somtochukwu Onyemaechi, Chibuzor Nma Onyemaechi, and Praise Chukwudi Ibezim.
The police detailed how the syndicate altered the children’s identities upon sale, changing their names to conceal their origins.
Revealing how Marvellous Obi was taken, the police stated, “There is a case of a baby, Marvellous Obi, who is one year old but was sold to Mrs. Ibezim Chioma when he was barely a week old.”
Similarly, they explained that “another case is that of one-year-old Somtochukwu Onyemaechi was painfully sold by his biological mother, 22-year-old Faith Sunday, to an unknown individual through Ibezim Chioma and the supplier, Sunday Okputu.”
The police further disclosed, “The baby was sold for N1,500,000 (one million five hundred thousand naira) to someone residing in Alausa, Ikeja, but was eventually recovered in Owerri, Imo State, on January 29, 2025.”
Faith Sunday, when confronted, admitted to selling her child but blamed her decision on financial hardship and her inability to provide for him. She claimed the baby’s father abandoned them, leaving her with no means of support.
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