Child kidnappers steal Benue parents’ peace

A new wave of crime, including child-kidnappings, in the last few weeks, has shattered the peace of several families in different parts of Benue State. This follows the sudden disappearances of some children below the age of 10 years. At least 22 children are said to have disappeared in various parts of the state within […]

A new wave of crime, including child-kidnappings, in the last few weeks, has shattered the peace of several families in different parts of Benue State. This follows the sudden disappearances of some children below the age of 10 years.
At least 22 children are said to have disappeared in various parts of the state within the period, as child-kidnappers are reportedly on the prowl.
So far, the abducted kids are believed to belong to 17 different families. Daily Trust gathered that one of the affected families has six missing children, while others have one each.
But the Benue State police command has disputed this figure even as it arrested a nine-man syndicate that specialised in trafficking in babies. Among those arrested during the week was a lady who sold her two-month-old baby for N14, 000.
The state police public relations officer, ASP Austin Ezeani, who paraded members of the syndicate at the command’s headquarters in Makurdi, explained that the traffickers had formed a ring around the length and breadth of the state, abducting and trading babies within the range of one month to six years.
Speaking to our correspondent in Makurdi, four wailing mothers whose children were stolen recounted their ordeal and appealed to members of the public to volunteer useful information that will lead to the recovery of their children.
The affected mothers – Ngodoo Paul Amaise, Wandoo Henkyaa, Charity Otumala and Doosuur Aer, all residents of Makurdi metropolis, said they were representatives of 17 women whose children got missing within the same period. They wept in each other’s arms until no strength was left in them at the premises of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Makurdi, where they created a pathetic scene while narrating their ordeal.
Amaise, 30, who sells fresh cassava (akpu) in Wurukum Market, explained that her four-year-old son, Terdoo Paul, went to play within the market on August 29 after school, and has not been seen despite her frantic search for him.
“He usually played with his mates about 4pm around where I sell akpu. And he would come back to me by 5 pm,” she narrated. “When he didn’t return on that particular day, I searched everywhere in the market until 6 pm before going to the police. And up till now, he has not been found.”
Amaise, whose husband is a commercial bus driver, stated that Paul, who is her third child, is a pupil of Jewel Model School, situated along Gboko road where members of her family also reside.
Similarly, Henkyaa, who works as a daycare mother at Fountain Model Academy at Wadata, left her four-year-old son, Saaondo Phillip at her sister’s place before travelling for a funeral. On her return, she was greeted with a different and unsavoury story. She was told that a strange uncle came and took the boy away on the guise that he was going to buy Bobo juice for him. This incident happened on August 28.
The 32-year-old mother said Phillip, the youngest of her three children, attends the same school where she works. Henkyaa said she was so devastated by the news that she became unconscious for many days. She, however, stated that a suspected cultist in her neighbourhood at the Benue Crescent in Wadata had been apprehended by the police in connection with her son’s disappearance.
Also, Otumala, 25, and Aer, 26, who live in the same compound, are both victims of the wave of kidnappings. Their seven, and four-year-old sons respectively, who were playing together at the Yongo Street in Wadata at about 11 am on September 10, were whisked away by an unknown person.
Otumala, a native of Igede in Oju local government area of the state, had travelled to her village and left her son with her younger sister, who in turn kept the boy in the care of another neighbour while she went to do her business at the Makurdi Modern Market.
“I was still in the village when they called me, saying that they could not find my son, Sunday. I later learnt that he was last seen while playing with Aer’s little child. Up till now, we can’t trace both of them,” Otumala said amidst sobs.
On her part, Aer explained that Terhide, her four-year-old son got missing the same day she enrolled him in school at Peace Nursery and Primary School, Zaki Ibiam Street, Wadata in Makurdi metropolis.
*Daily Trust also gathered that penultimate Sunday, a woman had her baby snatched from her back by some fierce-looking gunmen along Amokachi Lane in Low Level area of Makurdi metropolis while on her way to church.
Interestingly, most of the abducted children’s fathers are commercial drivers.
Speaking to the affected women at the Makurdi Prisons gate where he went to perform a function, Governor Samuel Ortom assured that their children would be recovered. To this end, he charged security agencies in the state to step up vigilance in order to track down the kidnapping syndicate.
“Benue cannot afford to be a safe haven for kidnappers and other criminals. We shall do all in our power to support the security agencies to track the kidnappers and rescue the children,” he said.
The governor advised parents to closely monitor their children so as to shield them from danger, adding that with sustained prayers and cooperation from the public, the kidnapped children would be rescued.
The Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Zone 4, Mr. Yahaya Ardo, confirmed that the police had received reports of abduction, saying they were investigating the incidents with a view to apprehending the perpetrators and bringing them to justice.
Ardo also advised parents and guardians to ensure that children were always accompanied by adults and educated to reject gifts from strangers, including foods and drinks.
Similarly, a deputy director of the Directorate of State Services (DSS), Mr. Ukoh Abasi, confirmed that the agency received reports of cases of kidnappings and has arrested eight suspected culprits.
However, parading those arrested in connection with the crime, the state police spokesman said that three of such abducted children had been recovered.
“We have made some arrests. We have also recovered some three babies. One of the suspects has volunteered to take us to where the children are being kept. It’s a syndicate. While some steal the children and sell, others kidnap and demand money from the children’s families,” Ezeala explained.
While warning parents to be vigilant, he added that available information suggested that the stolen kids were taken to Anambra and Enugu states.
Among those paraded at the state police headquarters were Veronica Vanger, a restaurant owner in Gboko, who allegedly lured pregnant young girls to the eastern part of the country where they were kept until they gave birth to babies who were then sold.
Her victim, Ngbenkerger Doo, alleged that she was made to sell her newborn at N100, 000 but was later shortchanged and given only N14, 000.
Another victim, Dooshima Adogo, 16, who gave birth to a baby girl and lives with her aunt in Buruku local government area of the state, was also made to part with her baby to some strangers from Enugu for a mere N20,000.
It was gathered that Adogo’s aunt, Grace Aandi, who negotiated the deal for N300, 000 but got an initial payment of N220, 000, only gave N20, 000 to the teenager, with a promise to cater for her needs.
The alleged buyer, Onye Ekwueme (Mama Ngozi), said it was her friend who had married for over 20 years without a child that contracted her to get a baby boy for her; hence the deal with Mrs.  Aandi.
Ekwueme said Adogo’s aunt had agreed to provide the baby through her pregnant little niece. But the deal went sour when the victim, who was given N20, 000 and told that the strangers from Enugu would help take care of her baby, could no longer bear to see them drive away with her daughter.
“As they drove off, I cried to a neighbour and narrated what happened to me. It was the man that reported the case to the police who arrested my aunt and I. But two days later, I saw the same stranger with my baby,” Adogo narrated.
Mrs. Aandi denied selling the baby, but her husband, Augustine Aandi, who was also arrested by the police, confessed that his wife had a hand in the business and was paid some money, part of which the police recovered and displayed at the state headquarters alongside the suspects.