The Anambra State Police Command has arrested a 63-year-old female suspect, Ngozi Muotuanya, from the Awkuzu-Oba area of the state, for alleged child theft.
It was gathered that the suspect, who is also suspected of being a kingpin of an interstate child trafficking syndicate, was said to have allegedly stolen a male child, aged about one year, in Minna, Niger State, and sold him to an unsuspecting member of the public in Anambra State.
In a press statement on Tuesday, the spokesman for the Anambra State Police Command, SP TochukwuIkenga, stated that operatives attached to the Oba Division arrested the suspect on Monday after credible intelligence gathering.
Ikenga stated that the command had relayed the information about the custodian of the child to the Niger State Police Command for possible recovery and reunion with the parents and other necessary action.
The statement read in part, “In a decisive move to unravel the mysterious disappearance of children in the state, especially in Oba and its environs, police operatives attached to the Oba Division on August 11, 2025, acting on credible intelligence, apprehended one NgoziMuotuanya, female, of Awkuzu-Oba, aged 63 years.
“Preliminary investigations revealed that sometime in 2024, the suspect allegedly stole a male child, aged about one year, in Minna, Niger State, and sold him to an unsuspecting member of the public in Anambra State.
“The said suspect later resold the child to another person.
“However, on August 4, 2025, the receiver, upon realising that the child was stolen, returned him to the principal suspect.
“The suspect, in turn, allegedly abandoned the child at an unascertained church in Minna, where he was rescued by the leader of the Igbo Community in Minna.”
According to him, the command has relayed information about the custodian of the child in Minna to the Niger State Police Command for possible recovery and reunification with his parents and other necessary action.
“The suspect shall be transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department, Awka, for discreet investigation and prosecution,” the statement concluded.
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