A woman identified as Chioma Anoruo has been arrested by the State
Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) in Owerri, Imo state after she
confessed to selling about 19 children to ritualists.
According
to a report by The Guardian, Mrs. Anoruo was arrested by the Orlu
community local vigilante group while the husband, Emeka who had sighted
the vigilance group member, escaped through the back door leaving his
wife to be apprehended and forced to open their doors where the victims
were found inside a room in captivity.
A score of Five children,
including a new-born baby, already kidnapped for sale, were rescued from
her house, while a Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) belonging to Emeka, was
recovered along with an undisclosed large sum of money. She also
confessed that they had sold more than 19 children and the remaining
five were waiting to be sold to their customers before her arrest.
Residents
had complained of continuous disappearance of children in the area,
which was of serious concern to the community leaders. A vigilante group
member of the community who didn’t want to be named said: “This year
alone, the community has recorded a large number of missing children.”
A
pupil of Ezioha Community School, Okporo identified as Master Dominion
Obasi was, on March 30, kidnapped in the school premises and since then,
has not been found.
Moreover, two sons of the same parents,
identified as Chukwuemeka and Chigozie, pupils of Holy Trinity Anglican
School, Amazu in Okporo were abducted while returning home after their
school had closed for the day.
As the abductors were
trying to escape with them on their motorcycle, a palm wine tapper, who
saw the two men while on top of a palm tree, raised the alarm, which
attracted the attention of vigilance group members, who pursued them and
apprehended one of the suspects identified as Ebuka.
It was
Ebuka’s confession that led to the arrest of Anoruo. He said she and her
husband were his sponsors, who buy each child from his gang for
N100,000.
Anpruo confessed that her major
work in the business was to keep the victims while her husband would
contact buyers and sell them adding that human merchandise had been
their family business for years.
The vigilance group, have
however hannded over the suspect and the rescued victims to SCID in
Owerri under a department led by one Supol Obi to further innvestigate
the matter.