Police operatives in Ondo State have rescued a four-year-old girl who was declared missing and uncovered a child-trafficking ring spanning Ondo, Delta, and Anambra States.
The case originated on February 3, 2025, when Sunday Kingsley, a resident of Alagbaka Extension, Akure, reported that his daughter, Jesinta, had gone missing while staying with her mother, Sunday Happiness.
Spokesman of the State Police Command, Olusola Ayanlade, confirmed this in a statement released in Akure on Thursday.
The statement partly reads: *“The case began on 3rd February, 2025, when one Sunday Kingsley ‘m’ of Alagbaka Extension, Akure, reported that his 4-year-old daughter, Jesinta Sunday, who was living with his wife, one Sunday Happiness ‘f’, had gone missing.
“The case was transferred to the Monitoring Unit, State Command Headquarters, for discreet investigation. In the course of proceedings, the matter was charged before the Family Magistrate Court, leading to the remand of the child’s mother, one Nneka Onah ‘f’, alongside Sunday Happiness ‘f’, at the Ondo Correctional Centre before they were later granted bail.”*
According to Ayanlade, on July 9, 2025, the complainant, Kingsley, informed the police that the child had been sighted in Asaba, Delta State. Detectives from the Command’s Gender Desk Team swiftly moved in, recovered the girl, and returned her safely to Akure.
The statement further detailed the syndicate’s arrest: “The operation also led to the arrest of one Amaka Chukwuemeka ‘f’, aged 30 years, who confessed that she had purchased the child for ₦3,700,000 (Three Million, Seven Hundred Thousand Naira).”
*“She further revealed that it was her friend, one Chinaza Owoh ‘f’, aged 38 years, who introduced her to another woman, one Mabel Esimai ‘f’, aged 58 years, who released the child to her under the guise of adoption, providing forged documents in the process.
“This discovery prompted further investigation, which led to the arrest of Mabel Esimai. During interrogation, she disclosed that she received the child from one Chioma Okechukwu ‘f’, aged 37 years, with the instruction to find a buyer.”*
The Commissioner of Police, Adebowale Lawal, commended the Gender Desk Team for the successful operation and directed that investigations continue to expose all collaborators and prosecute the suspects.
Lawal reassured the public of the police command’s commitment to fighting crime, stressing that Ondo State will not be a safe haven for child traffickers or any criminal syndicate.