Enugu Police Smash Major Child Trafficking Syndicate, Rescue Six Children, Arrest Ten Suspects in Statewide Crackdown
In a stunning breakthrough that underscores the scale of organized child trafficking in Nigeria, the Enugu State Police Command has successfully dismantled an elaborate child trafficking syndicate operating within and beyond the state’s borders. Over a 17-day period—from June 30 to July 16, 2025—law enforcement operatives rescued six trafficked children and arrested ten individuals alleged to be members of local and transnational trafficking networks.
The coordinated series of raids, arrests, and rescues involved multiple divisions of the Enugu State Command, including the Anti-Cultism Tactical Squad, Awkunanaw Division, Ogui Division, and Emene Division, in collaboration with community-based security outfits like the Neighbourhood Watch.
This operation, described by security experts as one of the most comprehensive anti-trafficking crackdowns in recent years in southeastern Nigeria, has exposed the terrifying reach and tactics of traffickers—some of whom used fake identities, altered children’s names, targeted vulnerable teen mothers, and even trafficked minors across international borders to places like Ghana.
In a statement issued on Saturday, the Command’s spokesperson, SP Daniel Ndukwe, confirmed the arrests and rescues. He emphasized that the command’s aggressive anti-trafficking strategy is yielding measurable results, while reiterating the police’s commitment to hunting down every last member of the child theft syndicates still at large.
“Significant breakthroughs were recorded in the Command’s efforts to combat child theft and trafficking in the state,” Ndukwe said. “This includes the rescue of six victims and the arrest of ten suspects, some of whom are involved in international trafficking.”
Among the rescued victims are a one-year-and-seven-month-old baby boy, an eleven-month-old baby girl, and a 14-year-old girl who was trafficked as far as Ghana. Some victims had their identities erased and replaced with new names to mask their origins and facilitate illegal adoptions or resale into domestic servitude.
On the night of July 15, 2025, at about 9:30 p.m., operatives from the Anti-Cultism Tactical Squad, aided by local Neighbourhood Watch personnel, stormed a house in Ezeagu Local Government Area (LGA). There, they arrested 64-year-old Chiaha Josephine and 67-year-old Ozomma Christopher Ubanagum.
In the course of interrogation, the police discovered two trafficked children living under Josephine’s care. The children—a 16-year-old girl named Loveth Mfonobong and a 12-year-old boy named Benjamin Alex Okon—had both been stripped of their original identities. Loveth was renamed Chiaha Ifunanya, and Benjamin became Chiaha Udochukwu.
Josephine confessed to purchasing the children—Loveth in 2021 for ₦900,000 and Benjamin in 2024 for ₦1,400,000. Loveth could not recall her place of origin except for the name “Affi,” with no specific state or local government area, while Benjamin disclosed he was from Oron in Akwa Ibom State.
A day later, on July 16, police arrested 55-year-old Ilo Caroline in connection with the same case. Police say she played an accessory role in the illegal transfer and conversion of the minors’ identities.
Earlier, on July 13, 2025, officers from the Awkunanaw Division responded to a distress report at the New Garriki cattle market in Enugu. A mother had reported her one-year-and-seven-month-old son missing while she traded goods at the busy market.
Swift police action led to the arrest of 28-year-old Chiemerie Daniel Onwe, who was caught in possession of the stolen child. The suspect was walking with the baby in a tricycle when he was intercepted and arrested.
Fortunately, the child was rescued unharmed and reunited with his mother. The suspect has since been arraigned in court and remanded in correctional custody, with authorities promising further charges if additional links to trafficking networks are uncovered.
In one of the most chilling discoveries, police arrested 21-year-old Mirabel Oluebube after uncovering her role in trafficking a 14-year-old girl to Ghana. The arrest was made by the Emene Division of the Command on July 4, 2025.
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Mirabel confessed to the crime and cooperated with investigators to track down her accomplice, 32-year-old Udenze Ifeanyi. The victim was successfully rescued and returned to her family after what police described as a “delicate cross-border intervention.”
Both suspects were arraigned before a magistrate and remanded in custody pending further investigation. Authorities are exploring potential links between the suspects and other international child trafficking syndicates operating in West Africa.
On July 3, 2025, Ogui Division operatives arrested 16-year-old Chinenye Ozoagu, her 31-year-old mother Ogochukwu Ozoagu, and 40-year-old Chidinma Ukpai. Investigators discovered that Chinenye had given birth on June 30, 2025, and, in concert with her mother and Chidinma, sold the newborn baby for ₦1,400,000.
The child was traced and rescued in Nsukka, but the buyer managed to escape before police arrived. Authorities believe the buyer is a known player in baby racketeering rings in Enugu and neighboring states.
The trio are currently in custody and will face charges including child sale, conspiracy, and obstruction of justice.
That same day, June 30, 2025, another dramatic rescue played out in a hair salon in Enugu. A woman identified as Ogbuzuru Ifebuche, aged 36, had entered the salon under the guise of getting her nails done. While the child’s mother was attending to other customers, Ogbuzuru reportedly attempted to flee with the eleven-month-old baby girl.
However, the mother noticed her absence and immediately raised an alarm. The fleeing suspect was intercepted by passersby as she boarded a tricycle, and was nearly lynched by an enraged crowd before being rescued and arrested by the police.
She is currently under investigation and will be charged upon the conclusion of inquiries into possible connections with larger trafficking networks.
SP Ndukwe confirmed that while ten suspects have been arrested and detained so far, several others believed to be part of these coordinated trafficking cells are still at large.
“The Command remains committed to bringing all perpetrators of these despicable acts to justice. The remaining arrested suspects will be arraigned in court as soon as investigations are concluded, and our teams are actively pursuing other fugitives,” he said.
Commissioner of Police, CP Mamman Giwa, praised the professionalism and agility of the Command’s operatives and community collaborators. He cautioned parents and guardians to remain vigilant and adopt proactive measures to safeguard their children.
“Too many families are falling victim to trafficking syndicates due to negligence, poverty, or lack of awareness,” the Commissioner said. “This is no longer a hidden crime—it is a well-organized industry targeting our most vulnerable. Every parent, every guardian, and every teacher must now become an active stakeholder in the protection of Nigerian children.”
CP Giwa also reiterated the need for community members to report suspicious individuals or activities, especially those who target uneducated teenage girls, loitering minors, or young women with newborns.
This recent crackdown in Enugu comes amid growing national concern over child trafficking, baby factories, and illegal adoption syndicates in Nigeria. In states like Abia, Anambra, Delta, and Imo, similar cases have emerged over the past year—exposing a dangerous pattern of systemic exploitation and corruption often involving health workers, welfare officers, and rogue NGOs.
According to a 2024 report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Nigeria is one of the top five source countries for child trafficking in Africa. Many victims end up in domestic servitude, prostitution rings, baby harvest farms, or sold into foreign labor markets.
The Enugu Command’s successful operation this month not only reaffirms law enforcement’s readiness to act—it also throws a harsh spotlight on the socioeconomic factors that fuel trafficking, from poverty and broken homes to under-resourced education and weak birth registration systems.
While commendable progress has been made in rescuing victims and prosecuting offenders, experts warn that rehabilitation, reintegration, and long-term monitoring of rescued children remain underdeveloped in Nigeria.
Child rights advocates are now calling for:
- Stronger sentencing for traffickers and buyers.
- The creation of a victim compensation fund.
- Massive sensitization campaigns in markets, schools, and religious institutions.
- Technological solutions such as biometric birth registration and cross-state child tracking databases.
For now, the Enugu State Police Command stands as an example of effective inter-agency coordination and community partnership. But the war against child trafficking in Nigeria is far from over.
As this case shows, traffickers are becoming more organized, more deceptive, and more ruthless. The system that fights them must evolve faster—and act even harder.