In Delta State, the Edo Zonal Command of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons has apprehended an individual posing as a Reverend Sister for supposedly trafficking 38 children.
According to PUNCH Metro, the accused, Maryvianney Ikejimba also known as Oluchi, aged 40, alongside an accomplice named Chidera (currently missing), transferred the children to two orphanages under the pretense of providing them with improved care.
These children were reportedly handed over to the perpetrators by their parents at a farm community in Enugu-Awka adjacent to the Monastery, Ilah, in Delta State.
Following a tip-off, Ikejimba was apprehended by NAPTIP while trying to recruit more children at the farm community.
When contacted, Nduka Nwanwenne, the NAPTIP Zonal Commander in Benin, confirmed the incident, stating that the suspect was in their custody.
Reportedly trained in Ghana as a Reverend Sister, the suspect claimed their headquarters is in the Philippines. According to Nwanwenne, she convinced parents to allow their children to accompany them to the orphanages for better care.
To reassure the parents, the suspects invited two parents to visit the orphanage homes where their children would be staying.
“The agency has rescued thirty-two of the children, while six between three and six years old remain missing.
Three of the six children were claimed to be in Badagry, and the other three in Ogun State, though the suspect later mentioned they had been adopted in the East.”
On January 28, the suspect received 12 children, and on February 19, she received another 26, totaling 38 minors in her custody.
The suspect and accomplices were identified as human traffickers posing as Reverend Sisters from a convent in Owerri, recruiting children for trafficking purposes.
The agency continues its pursuit of the missing suspect and plans to press charges once the investigation concludes.