ENUGU, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)- The Anambra State Police Command has apprehended a couple suspected of trafficking a one-month-old baby from Lagos to Onitsha.
The arrest was made at Bridgehead in Onitsha, as disclosed in a statement by DSP Tochukwu Ikenga, the state Police Public Relations Officer, on Tuesday.
The interception occurred on Sunday when the couple was traveling in a luxury bus owned by a prominent transport company.
A vigilant co-passenger noticed that the mother was unable to breastfeed the baby, despite its cries for food, prompting them to alert the Anambra Police through the Control Room hotline in Awka.
Acting swiftly on the information, the police waited for the described luxury bus and intercepted it in the evening.
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“The good Samaritan put a call through to Anambra Police on its Control Room hotline in Awka which then relayed the information to the Police at Bridgehead in Onitsha.
“The Police laid in wait for the luxury bus described and intercepted it in the evening hours. The couple and the baby were identified and brought down for questioning,” he said.
The couple and the baby were identified and taken in for questioning. During interrogation, the woman confessed to purchasing the child from its mother in Ajah, Lagos, for N30,000.
Commending the concerned citizen for reporting the incident, Commissioner of Police Aderemi Adeoye expressed gratitude for the humane concern that led to the child’s rescue.
The commissioner praised the vigilance and dedication to duty exhibited by the police operatives involved in the interception.
In light of the situation, Commissioner Adeoye directed that the couple be handed over to the National Agency for Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) for further investigation and prosecution.
The rescued baby has been entrusted to the care of the state Ministry of Women Affairs while awaiting further investigations.