The police command has announced the arrest of a suspected child trafficker, Obinna Ibe, for kidnapping three young girls and moving them to Ghana.
The news of the arrest was contained in a statement signed by police spokeswoman Maureen Chinaka.
The suspect, arrested on March 8 by Isuochi Divisional Police Headquarters, is an indigene of Achara Isuochi in Umunneochi LGA.
The arrest was made possible through the information that the victims’ parents relayed to the police, said the statement.
“Onyekwere Christian (male) and Nneka Nwokoma (female), both from Achara and Amuda Isuochi, reported that their daughters had been missing for over a week. The missing girls were identified as Goodness Onyekwere, 15, Ezinwanne Onyekwere, 16, and Viviane Ndukwe, 13,” said the police statement.
It added, “In response, the police promptly initiated investigation that diligently pursued available leads and evidence to determine the missing girls’ whereabouts. The result of that meticulous investigative effort was the successful arrest of the suspect connected to the case by police in that division.”
The police said one of the suspects in police custody had confessed to his involvement in the incident, including abducting the three young girls and transporting them to Ghana.
In recent months, some young Igbo girls were seen in viral videos seeking help to return home from Ghana, claiming they were being forced to engage in prostitution in Ghana or its neighbouring countries.
However, when they refused to join prostitution rings, they were abandoned and left to sleep in motor parks until help came their way to return to Nigeria.
The police asked the public to help curb the trend of sending young girls into prostitution in neighbouring countries, noting that the suspect would soon be arraigned and prosecuted after ongoing investigations.