Operatives of the Anti-Kidnapping Squad of the Niger State Police Command have arraigned eight suspected members of a child-trafficking syndicate before Minna Chief Magistrate Court I for allegedly trafficking and trading in children.

The suspects were arrested by the squad led by its head, DSP Ahmed Sa’idu, and subsequently charged before the court.

According to the police, the suspects were apprehended in Nasarawa State while in possession of children allegedly stolen from various parts of Niger State.

Those arraigned are Leo Ugochukwu, Ngozi Ugochukwu, Henrietta Obiako, Rosemary Ogbulogo, Chiroma Onyaja, Vincent Emmanuel, Joy Ndife, and Olusegun Isaiah, all residents of Nyanya in the Federal Capital Territory and parts of Nasarawa State.

They were charged on eight counts, including criminal conspiracy, kidnapping, concealing or keeping kidnapped persons, dealing in the sale of human beings, child stealing, trafficking in persons, indecent treatment of children, wrongful confinement, and wrongful confinement in secret.

The charges, according to the Police First Information Report (FIR) marked MMC/CMC/74/25 and made available to the court, are punishable under Sections 60(2)(a)(1), 211, 238, and 239 of the Niger State Penal Code Law.

The police prosecutor, Inspector Aliyu Yakub Kuta, told the court that on November 5, 2025, at about 3:00 pm, one Victoria Ebunoha of Loko, Karu Local Government Area of Nasarawa State, was arrested at Dikko Junction while in possession of three male children suspected to have been stolen.

“During police interrogation, she confessed to stealing the children from Lambata in Gurara Local Government Area of Niger State and was heading to Nyanya in the FCT to sell them,” the prosecutor said.

He added that further interrogation revealed that she had stolen seven other children from their parents, including Mohammed Bala, Danlami Zhami, and Bello Usman, among others, in the Lambata and Sabon Wuse areas.
According to the prosecutor, the stolen children were sold to Leo Ugochukwu of Loko at the rate of ₦1.1 million per child.

“Further investigation revealed that all the accused persons confessed to intentionally purchasing the children from Victoria Ebunoha, knowing that the children were stolen,” he added.
When the charges were read to the defendants by the presiding Chief Magistrate, Murtala Bala Ibrahim, they all pleaded not guilty.

The prosecutor thereafter applied for an adjournment and requested that the suspects be remanded in the Minna Old Correctional Custody pending further proceedings.
Granting the application, the magistrate ordered their remand and adjourned the case to January 5, 2026, for further mention.