Be cautious, pay close attention to children, wards – Police

…Rescue two-year-old, arrest suspected child traffickers in Delta

By Abiodun OBA

Delta State Commissioner of Police, CP Wale Abass, has urged parents and guardians to be cautious and pay close attention to their children and wards.

This is as operatives of the command arrested two suspected child traffickers in the state.

The CP who assured residents that the Command will not allow the criminal syndicates to thrive in the State also called for support from members of the public especially in the area of providing credible, timely, and useful information that will aid police in crime fighting.

In a press statement made available to journalists on Saturday, the police public relations officer (PPRO) for Delta State Command, DSP Bright Edafe, disclosed that on August 3, 2023, at about 0700 hours, the Divisional Police Officer, Orerokpe received information that one Ifeoma Sunday, a.k.a. ‘COCO’, a suspected notorious cultist who has been terrorising Aghalokpe community and also wanted for his involvement in an earlier reported case of attempted murder, arson and armed robbery, was sighted in the community parading with a gun.

The DPO Orerokpe instantly mobilised and led patrol teams to the community where the suspect was arrested, and one locally made cut-to-size single-barrel gun and one expended cartridge were recovered from him.

The PPRO affirmed that the suspect and exhibits are in custody while the investigation is ongoing.

Meanwhile, the Spokesperson disclosed that operatives of the Command have arrested one Mallam Sa’ad Ahmed Baba (57), of no. 12 Lagos Street, Cablepoint, Asaba and Halima Abubakar, female, aged 25 years of Jaret, Cablepoint, Asaba, suspected to be child traffickers.

The PPRO noted that the suspects were nabbed on August 3, 2023, at about 1100hours, following a distress call from a resident of Jaret in Asaba, that her two-year-old child, Ridwan Ibrahim went missing the previous day while playing with other children in the compound of her sister whom she went to visit.

Based on this information, the State Commissioner of Police, CP Wale Abass, detailed operatives of SIB to embark on an intelligence-led investigation.

The team swung into action, analyzing the phone conversation of some suspected persons which led to the arrest of the two suspects.

Consequently, the missing child was rescued at Issele-Asagba where the suspects had hidden the child.

The police spokesman disclosed that an investigation is ongoing into the matter.