Mother in agony over money demanded by police to recover abducted son

Life has not remained the same for Zainab Ganiyu since her son went missing at their 22 Okeiho Street home in Dopemu area of Agege, Lagos in November last year.

Six-year-old Sultan was stolen around 7 pm on November 1, 2021 by a suspected child trafficker, Chijioke Akuba, who was said to have lured him and one other boy with popcorn while they were playing near their mother’s stall at a market in the area.

While the other boy escaped and returned home, Sultan was taken away by the strange woman.

“The other boy said he escaped from the strange woman while she was trying to buy them some candies,” Zainab said.

Fortunately, in March this year, the suspected child trafficker who abducted Sultan was exposed in Anambra State by her brother, who noticed that the children in her custody were speaking Yoruba and raised the alarm that led to her arrest by the police.

While being interrogated by the police in a video, Akuba, admitted stealing some children, some of which she had since sold to an unidentified kingpin. She also admitted selling her biological child.

She said the child she was caught with was picked from the Power Line area of Oko-Oba in Agege, Lagos, adding that she was working with an unnamed woman whom she claimed was her boss and the kingpin of a child trafficking syndicate.

Akuba said her share from the sale of the child would have been N150,000.

Akuba’s arrest prompted Zainab to visit her while in police custody, and the suspect, on being shown Sultan’s photograph, was said to have identified him as one of the children she stole and handed over to her boss in Anambra State.

While one of the children Akuba stole in Oko-Oba area of Agege was recovered from her, Sultan has not been recovered.

According to Sultan’s mother, Zainab, when Akuba was arrested and detained by the police, she visited her at the Elere Police Division in Agege where she was detained after one of the children she stole was recovered from her in Anambra State.

Zainab said her joy knew no bounds when the Akuba confessed that Sultan was one of the children she trafficked to Anambra State and that her son would be recovered before long. (The Nation)