A six-month-old baby, Lucky Sunday, kidnapped over a month ago by a co-tenant of the child’s parents at their residence in Anekelane Street in the Mile 2 area of Diobu in Port Harcourt, Rivers State has been rescued by the operatives of the Rivers State Police Command.
PUNCH Metro reports that the infant was abducted on Sunday, September 29, 2024, by a suspect, simply identified as Mr Erica, who reportedly fled with the child to Uyo, Akwa Ibom State capital.
The Rivers State Police Command had been on his trail ever since and had spread its dragnet to ensure his arrest and prosecution.
The manhunt finally paid off when detectives attached to the Mile 1 Police Division trailed him to Uyo, leading to his arrest, and ferried him back to Port Harcourt.
PUNCH Metro gathered that during interrogation, the prime suspect revealed to the police that he sold the baby for N3.6m to an unidentified female buyer who took the child to Enugu State.
Subsequently, following discreet investigation, the detectives attached to Mile 1 Police Division rescued the child on Sunday and arrested the buyer and four other accomplices bringing the number of suspects to six, all of whom are currently detained at the police station in Port Harcourt.
The father of the child, Anekan Sunday, confirmed the rescue of his baby and arrest of the six suspects to our correspondent on Monday, saying, “Yes, I saw my baby yesterday (Sunday). But the police didn’t allow me to take him yet because they said they wanted to go to court.
“The suspect who took the baby and other people have been arrested. They are six in all and they are at the Mile 1 Police Division.”
The Rivers police spokesperson, Grace Iringe-Koko, confirmed the rescue of the baby and the arrest of the suspects to PUNCH Metro, saying it was a child trafficking syndicate.
Iringe-Koko, a Superintendent of Police, also revealed that the prime suspect had earlier sold his biological child before abducting that of his neighbour.
She stated, “It is a case of child trafficking syndicate that our men busted.
“The man sold his biological son and also abducted another child who he sold for N3.6m to a lady.
“But the lady claimed she went to an orphanage to register the child for adoption in Enugu State. The child was abducted here in Port Harcourt and sold to her.
“The child has been rescued. The suspect and five others have been arrested and an investigation is ongoing.”
Meanwhile, a rights advocate and National Coordinator of Centre for Basic Rights Protection and Accountability, Prince Wiro, has commended the police for its due diligence in the rescue of the child and arrest of six suspects.
Wiro stated, “We sincerely commend the officers attached to the Mile 1 Police Division for the rescue of the child. It shows a high level of professionalism and due diligence.
“We think that the officers deserve an award from the police authorities in the state. We equally urge the police to arraign any of the arrested suspects found culpable during investigation in court for justice to be served, as a deterrent to others who may want to toe the same line of action.”
