The Lagos State Police Command has dismantled a notorious trans-border child trafficking syndicate, rescuing 11 victims and arresting four suspects allegedly involved in luring and transporting young Nigerians to Ghana for prostitution.
Police spokesperson Benjamin Hundeyin said in a statement on Friday that operatives of the Ilemba Hausa Division intercepted the gang on Wednesday. They arrested one Mustapha Abubakar, an okada rider suspected to be a recruiter, in possession of a 15-year-old girl about to be trafficked.
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He said the case was transferred to the command’s Special Squad I, which, acting on intelligence, launched a coordinated manhunt.
He noted that the operation led to the arrests of Charles Chima, 54, at Amuwo Odofin; Emmanuel Nwaka, 36, along the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway; and Princess John, 21, at Ojota.
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“Investigation revealed that all the arrested suspects are part of the criminal network that recruits and traffics young women from Nigeria to Ghana,” Mr Hundeyin said.
Mr Hundeyin stated that further enquiries led to the rescue of 10 more victims, aged between 21 and 29. They are now in protective custody, receiving care and support, with arrangements underway to reunite them with their families.
He said the suspects remain in police custody and are assisting investigators to uncover the full extent of the network.
Meanwhile, the Commissioner of Police, Olohundare Jimoh, commended the operatives for their swift and professional work, reaffirming the Command’s zero tolerance for human trafficking.
He urged residents to remain vigilant, monitor the welfare of young persons, and promptly report suspicious activities.
Not the first time
The latest arrests come months after operatives of the Zone 2 Police Command, Onikan, smashed another trafficking syndicate in February, rescuing five children aged one to six from suspected traffickers.
Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG) Adegoke Fayoade said the zone received intelligence on 8 January about a gang specialising in the buying and selling of newborns, toddlers, and children.
The syndicate, he explained, was led by three people — one who supplied the children, another acting as a middle person and caregiver, and a third who cared for the children before handing them to buyers.
The children’s identities were altered by the traffickers to conceal their origins. One boy, sold as a week-old infant, was resold to a couple in Italy but kept in Nigeria under the syndicate’s watch.
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Another boy, aged three, was sold in 2021 for N500,000, while a one-year-old was sold by his biological mother in September 2024 for N1.5 million to a buyer in Alausa, Ikeja, before being recovered in Owerri.
A six-year-old boy was allegedly bought for N800,000 in Imo State. The gang was also found holding a three-year-old girl brought in as a newborn.
Following the February operation, Lagos State Commissioner for Youth and Social Development, Mobolaji Abubakre Ogunlende, reiterated the government’s firm opposition to child trafficking, warning that the buying and selling of children would not be tolerated.
Speaking at a joint briefing with police at Zone 2 Command Headquarters, Mr Ogunlende praised the rescue of five children from a syndicate led by Sunday Okputu.
He described the success as “a celebration of the power of collaboration” and stressed that Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s administration was committed to ensuring every child in Lagos grew up in safety.
Deputy Commissioner of Police Ajao Adewale said the rescue was made possible through intelligence-led policing and community cooperation.
Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Toyin Oke-Osanyintolu, added that the rescued children would undergo medical evaluations before being placed in government-run homes for rehabilitation.
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