The Ondo State Security Network Agency, codenamed Amotekun Corps, has rescued a young boy, Eriponmile, who was kidnapped in the Davog area of Ijoka, Akure, leading to the arrest of members of a suspected child trafficking and organ harvesting syndicate.
Commander of the Corps, Akogun Adetunji Adeleye, disclosed this to journalists in Akure, commending his operatives for their swift action, which led to the rescue of the boy within 48 hours of the abduction.
He said,“We received a distress call from the Ijoka Davog area that Eriponmile had been kidnapped and taken away, and we immediately swung into action.
“Within 48 hours, our indicators showed that Eriponmile was already outside Ondo State. We spread out our dragnet, deployed our plainclothes operatives, and by the grace of God, we were able to bring Eriponmile back to Ondo State to be reunited with his mother and father.”
He revealed that the breakthrough came after the boy was tracked to a hospital in the eastern part of the country, where he had already been tested and declared “medically fit to be harvested” by one Amaka, alleged to be a major player in the trafficking network.
“Along the line, we arrested the suspected kidnappers and discovered that this is a business they have been involved in for a long time. Many children have been kidnapped and used for ritual purposes and organ harvesting,” Adeleye added.
The arrested suspects include Amaka, Ifeanyi, Adaeze, Etose, Omolara, and two others still being tracked.
One of the suspects, Adaeze Kenneth, a 20-year-old daughter of the alleged ringleader, Amaka Ngozi, claimed to be a baker with a shop in Sijuade. She narrated how a pregnant woman was convinced to travel to Anambra State with her mother to sell her baby.
“After they returned, they rented an apartment. Since then, I’ve distanced myself. When she was going, she asked me to follow her and I said no. I wasn’t rewarded with any money,” she said.
Another suspect, Amaka Kenneth, 35, who claimed to be a widow and a clothing vendor, confessed to facilitating the sale of babies to a motherless babies’ home in Onitsha for ₦500,000 per child.
“Myself, Tosin, and Mr. Adewale Olokungboye are the ones doing it,” she confessed.
In a chilling confession, another woman admitted to selling her own child.
“I gave them my own son, Jessica, Segun, and Ojo. I sold my one-year-old baby for ₦500,000. When they tested him, the woman said the child is AS, and they couldn’t use him because of his genotype. I don’t know the amount they eventually negotiated,” she said.
The Amotekun Corps has vowed to completely dismantle the syndicate, which it believes is behind several similar abductions and trafficking activities across the country.
The father of the rescued boy, Mr. Eriseun Omolewo, a resident of Iju in Akure North Local Government Area, expressed deep gratitude to the Ondo State Government and the Amotekun Corps.
“We had been searching for my son since last Tuesday. We approached the government to help us. Today, to the glory of God, they called me and said he has been found. I sincerely appreciate Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa and the Amotekun Corps for ensuring my son was rescued,” he said.
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