A 36-years-old man identified as Kingsley Essien has been arrested by men of Ogun state police command for allegedly trafficking his wife to Mali for prostitution and subsequently selling her 2-year-old son at the rate of N600,000.
According to a statement released by DSP Abimbola Oyeyemi, spokesperson of the state police command, the suspect was arrested following the report lodged at Agbara divisional headquarters by his wife, Bright Essien, who reported that sometime in October 2021, her husband, Kingsley Essien, informed her that he had secured a job for her in Bamako Mali, and that he has assisted many people to that country for greener pastures before.
”She explained further that being her husband, she didn’t suspect any foul play until she got to Mali only to discover that she has been sold to human trafficker cartel headed by a woman at the rate of One million four hundred thousand naira. While in Mali, she was forced into prostitution, but later found her way to Nigeria embassy in Bamako where she was assisted back to Nigeria.
“On getting to Nigeria, she discovered that her two years old son in care of her husband is nowhere to be found.
“Upon the report, the DPO Agbara division, SP Abiodun Salau detailed his detectives to go after the suspect, and he was eventually arrested,” Oyeyemi said.
It was gathered that the suspect confessed to committing the crime and said he sold the two-year-old son to somebody at the rate of six hundred thousand naira.
Oyeyemi added that the commissioner of police, CP Lanre Bankole, has ordered the transfer of the suspect to anti human trafficking and child labour unit of the state criminal investigation and intelligence department for discreet investigation.
He directed that the buyer of the son must be traced and arrested in order to recover the stolen child.
