Gombe Police Arrest 16 for Child Trafficking

The Gombe State Police Command on Wednesday paraded 16 suspects over child trafficking in the state. The state Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Mahid Abubakar, while parading the suspects noted that the case was recorded last weekend by the command, adding that it was a case of criminal conspiracy.

According to him, one Khadija Shehu-Manzo colluded with 15 others including staff of Gombe Local Government Area, stressing that they were arrested following an intelligence report received from the Barunde community. He said, “The community claimed that sometime within last year, one Khadija Shehu-Manzo and 15 others were involved in selling young babies to people in need. “Upon receipt of the report, detectives attached to Low-Cost Division started work, a full-blown investigation was carried out and the said Shehu-Manzo was arrested. “The remaining suspects arrested confirmed that Shehu-Manzo allegedly sold two babies to Ukamaka Ugo on different occasions. “Shehu-Manzo sold one child N400,000 out of the money from Tina Raphael, she gave N200,000 to one Haruna Abubakar, who is working with the Social Welfare Gombe.”

Abubakar disclosed that two babies were trafficked to Lagos and Anambra, adding that the command would do everything within its power to recover them. “Ukamaka Ugo, who bought two children one of them presently in Lagos and the other in Anambra. We are working to see how to recover them as well,” he added.

Source: Punch