Crime
Couple Arrested at Abuja Airport for Child Trafficking
Couple Arrested at Abuja Airport for Child Trafficking
By: Michael Mike
The issue of child traficking keeps on taking different dimension daily in the country. it is an establish fact that nearly all trafficked victims are children.
According to the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) report, more than half of child trafficking victims are trafficked within their own country according to new report.
It was dramatic scene at the Nnamdi Azikwe international airport on last Wednesday, June 26th 2024, when one Mr Godfrey Ayodele Iyama and his wife Mrs Stella Iyama trying to smuggle a 6 years old child (name withheld) away from the country without the concent of the father and blatant disobedience of court order (contempt of court) that the child in question should not leave the shore of Nigeria.
According to private investigator who had been put on the trail of the couple. According to the father of the child, “in order to perfect their criminal activities the identification of the innocent little girl was changed from the name is was given at birth and in the international passport I had earlier procured for her to Mr Godfrey Ayodele Iyama claiming that the father of the little girl has died while the father is still alive. The surprising things is that the little girl is having two valid passport bearing different name”.
However, if what Mr Godfrey claimed is right, why changes the name of the child, which is totally different from the name on the first passport issued to her? Even if the father is dead, does that automatically changed the identity of the girl in question? A lot of question is begging for an answer, the father of the girl asked.
He said: “If not God and quick intervention of immigration officer and proactiveness of the local investigator at the airport they would have boarded the Qatar Airway flight going to Birmingham international airport with the child. The immigration officer at the airport after arresting and detaining them handed them over to the airport security who investigated them and established that they were guilty of child trafficking.”
He added that: “This singular incident should open our eyes as a citizen of this country Nigeria to irregularity in our data system and how those saddle with the responsibility of keeping record should be on top of their job. In a country where the system is working, how possible for same person to have two different identification, but in a country where anything goes it is very possible.”
Our correspondent met with the biological father of the child who narrated the whole story. He said, “I got married to Shulamite November 28, 2017. We had our child in August 16, 2018. In 2021, many times I confronted her over my feelings that she was being unfaithful to me but she denied it. Finally In April of 2021, she confessed to sleeping with her ex-boyfriend. Because we haven’t slept together for over a year , we did a pregnancy test and she tested positive. A few weeks later she told me she had removed the child and when I reported the matter to the church they invited her and she ran away from my house with my three years old girl while I was still at work”.
He added, “For over a year she refused to tell me where she is with my baby. I was forced to file for custody of the child. She also filed for custody. In the court, she alleged that I use to beat her but the court found no such evidence but rather found evidence of her finger nails on my neck when she held me on the the neck while I was asleep. The judge ruled that we should both have custody of the child. That the child will be with her during school period but will be with me during holidays. And that none of us should take the baby outside Nigeria. They have failed to obey the court injunction as they have consistently denied me access to my child up till now”.
He alleged that: “In addition, my father-in-law Mr. Godfrey Ayodele Iyama conspired with his wife Stella Iyama and their daughter Shulamite Ewoma Ozo-iyama to change my daughter’s NIN and fraudulently obtained another imternational passport for her.”
All effort to talk to the Mr Godfrey Ayodele Iyama to hear his own side of the story prove abortive, though the case is now being handled by NAPTIP.
Couple Arrested at Abuja Airport for Child Trafficking
FCT police arrest suspected ammunition courier for zamfara bandits
By: Zagazola Makama
The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command has arrested a 32-year-old man suspected of attempting to procure ammunition for bandits operating in Zamfara State.
Sources told Zagazola Makama that the suspect, identified as Ahmed Abubakar, of Gusau, Zamfara State, and currently residing at Anguwan Dodo, Gwagwalada, was arrested on Dec. 7 at about 3:30 p.m. by operatives of the Mabushi Division following credible intelligence.
Sources said that the suspect had allegedly contacted a Nigerian Army personnel, Cpl. Yusuf Mohammed, to help him procure 1,000 rounds of ammunition, which he claimed were meant for bandits in Zamfara for a monetary reward.
During preliminary investigation, Abubakar reportedly confessed that he was acting on instructions from his uncle, Ahmed Yakubu, of the same address, who is currently at large. The uncle allegedly sent him to purchase the ammunition and transport it back to Zamfara for use by bandit groups within their locality.
The police recovered ₦170,100 from the suspect, believed to be part of the funds for the illicit transaction.
The Command said the suspect is currently in custody undergoing further investigation, while efforts are ongoing to track down his fleeing accomplice
FCT police arrest suspected ammunition courier for zamfara bandits
Retired DCP killed in Ngor-Okpala attack as police intensify search for abducted victims
By: Zagazola Makama
The Imo State Police Command has confirmed that the victim of a gun attack along Portharcourt Road in Ngor Okpala Local Government Area has been identified as retired Deputy Commissioner of Police, DCP Kingsley Woke, aged 56.
Zagazola learnt that DCP Woke, who last served as DC Courses at the Police Staff College, Jos, was travelling from Portharcourt to Umuahia in Abia State when he was shot in the chest by armed hoodlums on Dec. 7 at about 11:00 p.m. near Amala Autonomous Community, after Zion Ministry Church.
The deceased, who hails from Omuowu, Ikwerre LGA, Rivers State, had his personal belongings secured at the police station and later released to his sister, Mrs. Hope, who confirmed his death.
Sources said tactical teams, in collaboration with other security agencies, local vigilantes, and hunters, have intensified operations to track down the perpetrators and locate other victims who were reportedly abducted during the same attack.
Authorities assured the public that every effort is being made to apprehend the attackers and ensure the safety of residents along the Ngor Okpala corridor.
Retired DCP killed in Ngor-Okpala attack as police intensify search for abducted victims
Army troops neutralise 11 terrorists, recover weapons in Sabon Birni ambush in Sokoto
By: Zagazola Makama
Troops of 8 Division Nigerian Army, conducting Operation FANSAN YAMMA, have neutralised 11 terrorists during a precision ambush in Kurawa Village, Sabon Birni Local Government Area of Sokoto State.
Sources reliably informed Zagazola Makama that the operation was executed at about 0645 hours, on Sunday following credible human intelligence on the movement of a terrorist group attempting to cross towards Tara village in the same council area.
The coordinated strike was carried out by the 8 Division Garrison Strike Team leading to the successful interception of the terrorists along their crossing route.
According to the sources, the troops recovered eight AK-47 rifles after the encounter, while a follow-up exploitation operation to further clear the area is currently underway.
The ambush, described as “swift, surgical and professionally executed”, is one of the latest gains recorded under Operation FANSAN YAMMA, the ongoing theatre-wide offensive aimed at dismantling terrorist and bandit networks across Sokoto, Zamfara and neighbouring corridors.
Military authorities said more details would be provided after the ongoing exploitation and assessment of the battlefield.
Zagazola reports that 8 Division has in recent months intensified both kinetic and intelligence-driven operations, leading to the degradation of several criminal enclaves and improved security across the region.
End
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