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How suspects stole six children in one month
From Uchenna Inya, Abakaliki
In Ebonyi State, child stealing is on the increase with many children falling victims. Within February this year, no fewer than six children have been stolen in their homes with their whereabouts unknown till today.
Three children: two males and a female – were stolen in Abakaliki, capital of the state on February 6 while another set of three children were stolen on 28 day of the same month.
The first incident occurred opposite Nkwagu military cantonment, Nkwagu village in Abakaliki local government area.
The children belonged to two women – Mrs. Happiness Ofunna Gladys and Mrs. Nworie Oluchi.
The suspects, in the night of the previous day, came to their compound, had some discussions with their landlord and thereafter spent the night in one of the empty rooms in the compound before stealing the children
Mrs. Ofunna narrated the incident to Daily Sun: “I went to the market in the early hours of that day to buy some goods for my business. On getting to where I went to buy my goods, I got a distress call that two of my children have been stolen. I immediately rushed back to the compound and saw people in clusters discussing.
“From the information available and the story that the neighbors narrated to me, the three women that stole my children, a boy and a girl, were the same women that spent the night in our compound the previous day. My two children they took are between the ages of one and two years.
“I am still confused how people could simply come into an environment just to steal children. Nobody suspected anything and that’s why I am still shocked over what happened. I want to appeal to the security agencies to ensure that the women are apprehended to serve as a deterrent to others.”
Her counterpart, Mrs. Nworie, said the suspects came to the compound in the evening. “When I returned from the market on that February 6, to prepare evening food, I saw the women sitting outside close to the compound with our landlord discussing. I went inside and started cooking without suspecting anything.
“In the morning when I woke up, I decided to wash some clothes. After a while, I started looking for my son. When I called him and didn’t get any response, I asked the other siblings his whereabouts and they told me, that one of the women asked him to buy biscuits for the other children
“I rushed to where the women were sitting and asked after my son, one of them told me that they sent him to buy biscuits and immediately volunteered to go and bring him back. I went into my house to change my clothes so as to go and bring my boy back. Before I could come out, the children in the compound raised the alarm that the women had entered a tricycle and zoomed off with the three kids.
“I raised the alarm but, unfortunately, before people could come out, they could no longer be traced. That’s how my two-year- old boy was stolen from our compound.”
The state police public relations officer, Joshua Ukandu, who confirmed the incident, said the three children were stolen from their house at the Nkwagu village by some women who visited the compound on February 6, 2026.
Ukandu said that the matter has been reported to the Central Police Station, Abakaliki by parents of the children. He said the matter was being investigated by the police to unravel the circumstances behind the unfortunate incident.
He noted that the state commissioner of police during a recent meeting with the landlords association in Abakaliki directed them to always ensure the identity of those they are giving out their houses to and ensure that they also present guarantors before they are given houses.
As the whereabouts of the three children remained unknown, another three children were also stolen early this month by a lady, who rented an apartment in the compound where the children were stolen.
The incident occurred in Nwezenyi, Gbeagu community, Izzi local government area of the state. The lady reportedly rented an apartment in the area days before the incident.
The victims, identified as Favour, Obinna and Kamso Okeoha, were said to have been taken on February 28 while their parents were away. The situation has thrown the community into apprehension.
Ukandu also confirmed the incident. He said the police have launched an investigation into the matter with a view to tracking and rescuing the victims.
Residents, who spoke on condition of anonymity, expressed shock over the development, noting that the suspect had only just moved into the compound. According to one of the residents, the woman rented the apartment on a Thursday and moved in on Friday.
“She stayed just one day before the children were abducted on Saturday. We do not even know her identity,” the resident said.
Another neighbour said the suspect appeared friendly and went as far as painting her room and inscribing: “One Love” on the wall, allegedly to create a positive impression among other tenants.
When Daily Sun visited the compound, the apartment allegedly occupied by the suspect was the only one painted and bearing the inscription: “One Love.”
The parents of the abducted children were not available for comments as sympathizers gathered in the compound awaiting their return.
A single lady in the state identified as Ebere Aleke had lost her child in 2021. The lady who hails from Ukwuagba Ngbo in Ohaukwu local government area of the state, is seeking interventions from the state government, human rights groups and civil society organizations to recover her son in Port-Hacourt, Rivers State where she said the child has been since he was kidnapped.
She said she noticed her toddler’s disappearance in 2021 after the day ‘s hawking in Onitsha, Anambra State where she lived. According to her, the biological father of her son abandoned her immediately after conception, which compelled her after delivery to cater for him singlehandedly.
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She said she left the boy with one of their town’s women, while hawking palp along the streets of Onitsha, till the fateful day she was faced with a difficult reality of the son’s disappearance.
She told the reporter that the missing baby had been traced and found at a Rivers State children’s home since 2023, but managers of the home have allegedly kept extorting money from her for a DNA test which they never made available to her despite being the sponsor.
She appealed to the Ebonyi State government and all people of goodwill for support to guarantee release of her son from the said home.
“My problem started when the man who impregnated me rejected the pregnancy and abandoned us. I struggled alone throughout the pregnancy and it got worse after giving birth.
“To make ends meet, I prepared palp and hawked every morning around streets of Onitsha in Anambra State. After some time, I started keeping my boy with one of my neighbours for safety while I hawked whether in the rain or sun. Some days, I worked in construction sites as a labourer to make money so that we can be comfortable to an extent.
“One day I came back after the day’s hawking and couldn’t find my baby. The woman claimed I should know his whereabouts because he allegedly ran after me on my way out for business. As if that was a joke, I didn’t see my child till 2023 when I found him at a children’s home in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
“I learnt he was picked by the Rivers State Police and handed over to managers of the home. How my two years old boy traveled from Anambra State to Rivers State is still a mystery to me.
“So, on getting there and identifying him, he ran to me and embraced me so lovingly. On seeing us, managers of the home dragged him away from me and insisted I should bring N150,000 for DNA if was serious.
“Within same week, I rallied round and provided the said money. After about three months, the home managers didn’t call me as promised, so I called them.
“Since I could not understand what they were saying to me, I traveled there. They refused to give me results of the DNA test I sponsored. My boy has continued to be in their custody from that 2021 till date against my wish. I don’t know if they have sold him, they have denied me access to him for years.
“They are currently demanding N1,500,000 from me for another DNA test, while the result of the DNA test I sponsored in 2023 is yet to be given to me. I am yet to know the outcome.
“I am therefore pleading with the Ebonyi State government, Nigeria Bar Association, journalists, human rights groups and all people of goodwill to help me recover my baby from those people. I don’t have money to give them again,” she pleaded.
Efforts to reach the management of the Rivers State Children’s home for comments was not successful. But one of the managers of the home where the children is kept, Esther Uduyawo, directed the reporter to the Rivers State Ministry of Social Welfare.
“Please, any information about this child you want, go to the Rivers State Ministry of Social Welfare. I am no longer in the home. I don’t have any information to give on that child because I am no longer in that home,” she angrily said and switched off her phone.
In Nzashi community, Ikwo local government area of the state, a distraught mother, Mrs. Nneka Nwankwo Eke, is also appealing to the the state government and security agencies to help recover her son, Joshua, who was allegedly taken to Cotonou in Benin Republic by an alleged family acquaintance, one Omenka, and has not been seen for nearly a decade.
Mrs. Eke said her son, who was only 12 years old at the time, left home with Omenka in 2016 after the man convinced her husband that he wanted to train the boy abroad as a way of repaying a favour Joshua’s father had earlier done for his own father.
According to her, the family initially resisted the idea because the boy was still in school, but Omenka assured them that Joshua would continue his education and attend church in Cotonou.
“My husband only agreed after Omenka promised to return with Joshua after one year so that we could see how he was doing,” she said.
However, the family said Omenka failed to return after the agreed period and repeatedly gave excuses whenever they contacted him. Five years later, he allegedly returned to the community alone without the boy.
The matter was subsequently reported to their traditional ruler, where Omenka again promised to go back and bring the child home, but according to the family, he later cut off communication and became unreachable till date.
Narrating a related experience, Mrs. Ngozi Nweze, the victim’s aunt, said Omenka also attempted to take her own son to Cotonou using the same promise of education and better opportunities. She explained that although she initially refused, her husband was later convinced and allowed their son, Izuchukwu, to travel with Omenka.
According to her, Izuchukwu later revealed that instead of schooling, the children under Omenka’s care were allegedly forced to hawk prepared cow skin, popularly known as kanda or pomo on the streets from morning till night.
“When they got there, each child was given a bucket with their name on it and forced to hawk. If you did not make enough sales in a day, you would go hungry,” she alleged.
She further stated that her son secretly contacted his father to report their situation, prompting the family to demand his immediate return. Izuchukwu was eventually brought back, but Joshua reportedly remained behind because Omenka claimed he could not afford transportation for both children.
“Joshua was crying that he wanted to return home with them, but Ikechukwu refused and told him to continue hawking to raise money for his transport,” she said.
Since then, the family said they have neither seen nor heard from Joshua and do not know whether he is alive or dead.
Speaking on the case, the family’s lawyer, Onyekachi Ibeh Jude, described the matter as suspected child trafficking and called for a thorough investigation. She stated that Joshua had been missing since 2016 and that the suspect allegedly threatened the family that he could use his wealth to influence his release if arrested.
According to the lawyer, the case was reported to the police earlier this year after a whistleblower alerted the family that Omenka had returned to the area. She explained that the suspect was eventually arrested and the case transferred to the Anti-Kidnapping Unit of the Ebonyi State Police Command in Abakaliki following a petition filed by the family.
“Since February 10, 2026, he has been in detention following a court order while investigations continue to determine what happened to the boy,” she said.
The lawyer added that the family is only seeking the truth about Joshua’s fate.
“If the boy is alive, let him show us where he is. If he is dead, let the family know where he was buried. The parents deserve to know what happened to their child,” she said.
