The police in Akwa Ibom State have arrested Christiana Ibanga and her boyfriend, Inyene Akpan, for allegedly trafficking their child and selling the baby for N450,000.
The suspects were paraded by the state police command at its headquarters in Ikot-Akpanabia, Uyo, on Wednesday, January 29.
According to the police spokesperson, DSP Timfon John, the arrests followed a tip-off from a woman (name withheld) who reported that Ibanga had lured her six-year-old daughter away to an unknown location.
John explained that on June 15, 2024, the woman from Afaha Atai Village in Ibesikpo Asutan LGA had reported that Ibanga, a resident of Ekamba Nsukara Village in Uyo LGA, had taken her daughter to an undisclosed destination.
“Acting swiftly, our operatives launched an investigation and arrested Ibanga and her boyfriend, Inyene Etuk Akpan, on January 14, 2025, in Abuja,” John stated.
Upon interrogation, both suspects admitted to selling the child in May 2024 for N450,000 with the assistance of an accomplice, Saviour Aniedi.
Ibanga further confessed to conspiring with Aniedi and his wife to steal the child, who was then sold in Aba, Abia State, to an unidentified buyer.
The police command has initiated a manhunt in Aba for the buyer and to locate the missing child.
“Our investigators extended their operations to Aba on January 23, 2025, in pursuit of the buyer and the child. Although the suspects in Aba remain elusive, we have made significant progress, and their arrest is imminent,” John added.
He also issued a stern warning to criminals operating in the state, urging them to either reform or face the full consequences of the law.