The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), Edo Zonal Command, has arrested one Maryvianney Ikejimba (alias Oluchi), 40,over the alleged trafficking of 38 children in Delta State.
Oluchi — a fake Reverend Sister and one Chidera, handed over the children to two orphanage homes under the guise of giving them better care.
According to reports, the children were handed over to the suspects by their parents at a farm community in Enugu-Awka camp by the Monastery, Ilah, Delta State.
She was reportedly arrested by the NAPTIP following a tip-off, while she came to the farm community apparently to recruit more children.
When contacted, the NAPTIP Zonal Commander in Benin, Nduka Nwanwenne, who confirmed the incident, said the suspect was in their custody.
Nwanwenne said the suspect claimed to be trained in Ghana as a Rev. Sister while their headquarters is in the Philippines.
He said she came to meet the parents and persuade them to allow their children to follow them to their orphanage homes and that they would be given better care.
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“To convince the parents when they were handed over the first batch of the children, he said the suspects asked two of the parents to follow them to know the two orphanage homes the children would stay.
“Thirty-two of the children have been recovered by the agency while six who are between the ages of three and six years old are yet to be recovered
“The suspect claimed that three of the six children are in Badagry while the other three are in Ogun State but later said they have been adopted by people in the East,” the commander said.
Nwanwenne said on January 28 the suspect was given 12 children while on February 19, she was given 26 children bringing the total number of children in her custody to 38, noting that the children were all minors.
According to him, the suspect and her accomplices were human traffickers, who were posing as Rev. sisters from a convent in Owerri, recruiting children for human trafficking.
He said the agency was still on the trail of the other suspect, Chidera and that the suspect would be charged to court as soon as the investigation is concluded.
