THE Police in Zamfara State said they arrested a woman in Gusau for the theft of a two-year-old boy with intentions to sell him.
A statement released by the Police Public Relations Officer (PRO) in Zamfara Mohammed Shehu on Thursday said the woman identified as Aisha Ibrahim had planned to sell her co-wife’s son, Aminu Ibrahim, to raise money for her sustenance.
Upon her arrest last Saturday, she told the Police that her actions were retaliation to the theft and sale of her child by the co-wife.
“The suspect who held from Danyade Kaya village in Maradi, Niger Republic was arrested with her co-wife’s two-year-old child whom she confessed of the theft in retaliation to the theft and sale of her son by her co-wife.
“She further confessed that the reason for the theft was to sell the child and raise money for her day-to-day needs. She will be handed over to Nigeria Immigration Service for further necessary action,” the statement read.
There has been an increase in cases of child theft in Nigeria. The country ranks high on the global list of African countries involved in cross-border and internal trafficking.
According to a United Nation’s Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) report, human trafficking is the third-largest crime in Nigeria after economic fraud and drug trafficking. At least ten children are sold across the country every day.
Nigeria has struggled to end the menace, but lack of funding and the inadequacies of the judicial system often lead to denial of justice for victims.
In some cases, security officials are also involved in the trade, which hinders the fight against human trafficking in the country.
The ICIR had reported that an official of the Nigerian Air Force, Joy Kelvin, was linked to a child trafficking syndicate that operates in Northern Nigeria.
Kelvin had identified the Social Welfare Department in Gombe State as one of the most accessible places to buy and sell children in Nigeria.
According to Kelvin, children could be sold to the department for prices ranging between N300,000 and N800,000.
The Akwa Ibom State Police Command had also arrested a medical doctor in 2020, Victor Onongha, for child theft.
He was arrested with 15 others, and a five-month-old child was recovered from them by the security operatives.
The police had said in a statement that the child’s mother, Grace Davis, had conspired with her sister Abigail Davis to sell the child to Onongha for N250,000.
Ijeoma Opara is a journalist with The ICIR. Reach her via [email protected] or @ije_le on Twitter.