RismadarVoice Reporters
September 12, 2026
The Abia State Police Command has arrested a man and three others over an alleged attempt to sell and traffic his 16-month-old daughter for financial gain.
The suspects were arrested on September 7 by operatives of the State Criminal Investigation Department, Gender Unit, at a hotel in Obi, Obingwa Local Government Area of the state.
The Commissioner of Police, Wilfred Afolabi, disclosed this on Friday while briefing journalists on the command’s achievements since he assumed office on August 10.
Afolabi said the suspects were transferred from the Central Police Station, Umuahia, in connection with alleged conspiracy and child trafficking.
He said preliminary investigations established that the child was the biological daughter of one of the suspects, while further investigations indicated that the alleged trafficking attempt was motivated by financial gain.
The rescued child has been placed in the custody of the Abia State Ministry of Women Affairs, while the four suspects remain in police custody as investigations continue.
The commissioner also said the command had recorded more than 152 criminal cases and arrested over 220 suspects since his assumption of office.
According to him, nine kidnapped victims were rescued, while 101 rounds of ammunition and cartridges and six stolen vehicles, including tricycles and motorcycles, were recovered. He added that two criminal networks were dismantled during the period.
Afolabi further disclosed the rescue of a medical doctor allegedly abducted by armed men on August 19.
He said the victim was forced into his vehicle before the abductors fled towards Imo State. Vehicle-tracking technology and coordinated intelligence operations by the Abia and Imo police commands subsequently led to the recovery of the vehicle and rescue of the doctor in the early hours of August 20.
Several suspects allegedly linked to the abduction, including individuals suspected of assisting in the movement or distribution of ransom money, have been arrested, while efforts are ongoing to apprehend other members of the alleged network.
In a separate operation, police arrested another suspect allegedly connected to an armed robbery and kidnapping incident along the Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway in Aba.
The suspect was allegedly linked to an attack in which a female victim was robbed of a Toyota Highlander, mobile phones, a handbag and other personal belongings.
Police said investigations into the various cases were ongoing.
