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Geoffrey Anyanwu, Awka
Two kids rescued from three women members of a child-stealing syndicate in Nkpor, Idemili North local government of Anambra State last week have been reunited with their families from Gombe State by the state police command.
The command also handed over the case to the Gombe State Police Command for further investigations and prosecution.
The two children, Mustapha Abdulazeez (two years) and Wahlid Yusuf (three years), were said to be playing outside their family house with other children in Gombe State on Sunday, October 20 when they were kidnapped.
Parading he three suspects yesterday at Command Headquarters Awka, the Commissioner of Police, John Abang through the state Police Public Relations Officer, Haruna Mohammed, gave their names as Blessing Joe from Bauchi State, Ngozi Tisiobi from Achina, Aguata Local Government of Anambra and Faith Okpa from Ugep, Cross River State.
He said from investigations it was revealed that each of the children was sold for N750, 000 only, adding that the suspects had initially denied their involvements but changed their stories after the children identified their parents.
He said the principal suspect, Blessing John claimed that she was the biological mother of one of the children while the other one belonged to her late sister adding that before the children were released it was confirmed that the parents were truly their biological parents.
While handing over the children to their families, he reassured of the command’s preparedness to nip crime in the state in the bud.
One of the parents of children, Abdulaziz Suleman, told newsmen that their children were playing in their compound when they were kidnapped by an unknown person.
He said they were grateful to God for enabling them to see their children again after 20 days in the hands of the kidnappers, nothing that they discovered the rescue of the boys through social media.
He said: “One of our neighbours saw the pictures of the boys in the social media that they were rescued in Anambra State. He alerted us. When we confirmed that they were our children, we decided to come down to Anambra State to reclaim our children. When the children saw us they jumped and ran to us,” he stated.
Blessing John who initially gave her name as Hawawu Umar said that she was in a bus with a lady whom she claimed that told her that she needed help to train her two children and that when she got to Onitsha she approached Patience Opia to help her find somebody who would assist to train the children in school.
But Opia who hawk pure water in Onitsha main market on her part said that Blessing came to her and told her that one of the child was her child, while the other was her late sister’s child and that they needed somebody to help to train them in school.
She said: “I don’t know the lady apart from when she came to Onitsha and claimed that she was robbed by armed robbers and also I don’t know if there were price tags on the heads of the boys. I am just hearing about N750.000 price for each of the boys. I am hearing that for the first time here in the police station now. I am not aware of any price or intention to sell the boys.”
