Israel |
The last and youngest of the three missing children from Amaoba Ime - Oboro in Ikwuano LGA of Abia State has been found at last, sources from the office of the Transition Committee Chairman of Ikwuano LGA, Hon Osinachi Nwaka told dailyledger.com.ng on Thursday
The boy, Israel, aged four was reportedly found in Warri, Delta State.
Osinachi siblings |
The Ikwuano Mayor, Hon Nwaka when contacted on the development confirmed that the boy had been but said he will speak later when the boy finally arrives home, saying he is being brought home from Warri.
The three children of Osinachi Udo Chijioke - Gideon, aged 8; Divine, aged 6; and Israel were all abducted on May 10, 2024
Divine was first found on May 21, 2024, in Ekwulobia, Anambra State in a rescue operation coordinated by officers from the Abia State Police Command, Homeland Security, and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs).
While Gideon was found on May 23, 2024.
The children went missing when their grandmother reportedly entrusted them to a motorcyclist (popularly known as okada), who subsequently disappeared with them
Dailyledger.com.ng reports that Hon Nwaka who spearheaded the search operation had declared that "We will leave no stone unturned in our quest to bring all our children back safely"
The Ikwuano Mayor speaking to newsmen after the two children were found said: "The incident gave me sleepless nights. And within the two weeks we were able to find the two boys, I had sleepless nights and never slept in my house. It was a continuous affair of meetings and more meetings, with parents of the children, strategy meetings with security officials and other stakeholders
He expressed deep gratitude to Abia State Governor Alex Otti, the Abia State Commissioner of Police and heads of security agencies in the State for their resilience and support in ensuring that the children were safely returned to the State and reunited with their family. He reassured that the remaining boy aged four will soon be found even as he maintained that the security agencies are intensifying their search, using available information within their disposal
He also decried the fact that child-trafficking cartels running the kidnapping business in Abia State are rapidly penetrating the rural communities in the State. To curb the trend, he solicited the cooperation of journalists and the general public to unravel the masterminds of the illicit trade and to bring them to book for a safer Abia.
"There are syndicates in every local government that trade on children. It amazes me that a man who bought one of the first boy paid N1.8m to buy life.
"So those syndicates pick the children, by charming or bewitching them and move them to the so called motherless babies home, and from there, those agents will come and buy them.
"They do this for three reasons; either for money rituals, organ harvesting, or for adoption to families that are looking for children." Nwaka said.
Speaking how they were able to get a breakthrough in the whole saga, Nwaka said "immediately we got the first person, the rest of the information started leaking out, and to our surprise, we apprehended a Reverend Sister among this cartel.
"The Reverend Sister is the middle person that distributes the children, collects her cut, and ironically she was wearing white and has since remained in State CID till today", the Mayor said.
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