Operatives of the Anambra State Police Command have arrested a 63-year-old woman, identified as Ngozi Muotuanya, over her alleged role in a cross-state child trafficking network.
Police spokesperson, Tochukwu Ikenga, disclosed in a statement on Tuesday that Muotuanya was apprehended on August 11 following credible intelligence linking her to the abduction and sale of a one-year-old boy.
According to Ikenga, preliminary investigations revealed that in 2024, the suspect allegedly stole the boy in Minna, Niger State, and sold him to a buyer in Anambra.
However, after the initial buyer realised the child had been stolen, he reportedly returned him to the suspect.
Rather than return the child to his parents, Muotuanya allegedly resold him to another individual, who also discovered the boy had been abducted.
The suspect then purportedly abandoned the toddler in an unidentified church in Minna.
“On August 4, 2025, the receiver, upon realising the child had been stolen, returned him to the principal suspect,” Ikenga said.
“The suspect, in turn, allegedly abandoned the child at an unknown church in Minna, where he was rescued by the leader of the Igbo community in the area.”
The Anambra police have shared information on the child’s whereabouts with the Niger State Police Command for recovery and possible reunion with his biological parents.
Ikenga added that the suspect would be transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department in Awka for further interrogation and prosecution.
The police reaffirmed their commitment to dismantling trafficking networks in the state and urged residents to report suspicious activities to the nearest security formation.
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