Three Toddlers ∆bducted By Landlord’s Guests In Ebonyi Community
Three Toddlers Abducted By Landlord’s Guests In Ebonyi Community
…….Opposite Army Barracks
The children, two baby boys and a one-year-old girl, were reportedly kidnapped in the early hours of Saturday, from a residential compound located directly opposite a Nigerian Army barracks in the area.
Fear and anguish have gripped residents of Nkwagu community in Izzi Local Government Area of Ebonyi State following the abduction of three toddlers by suspected child traffickers operating under the guise of overnight visitors.
The children, two baby boys and a one-year-old girl, were reportedly kidnapped in the early hours of Saturday, from a residential compound located directly opposite a Nigerian Army barracks in the area.
The distraught mothers of the children, Mrs. Happiness Okpuno Gladys and Mrs. Nworie Oluchi, said the suspected kidnappers were three women their landlord allegedly brought into the compound to sleep overnight on Thursday, February 6.
Speaking amid tears, in a video clip shared on X handle by @Real_AmakaIke, Mrs. Gladys said she had no prior knowledge of the women before the incident and only learned of her children’s disappearance while she was at the market.
https://x.com/i/status/2020376387161362901
“This morning, I went to the market to buy goods I trade,” she said. “While I was there, I received a distress call from neighbours telling me that my children were missing. I rushed back home immediately and met a crowd of people in the compound.”
According to her, the women were strangers in the neighbourhood and spoke English and Central Igbo, but not the local dialect, raising suspicion among residents after the incident.
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“The people who kidnapped our children were brought to the compound by the landlord to sleep. We don’t have a lodge or hotel here. They had never been seen in this area before. It is only the landlord who can explain how he came to know them,” she said.
Mrs. Gladys said two of her children, a two-year-old boy and a one-year-old girl, were taken during the incident.
The second mother, Mrs. Nworie Oluchi, alleged that her two-year-old son was also abducted by the same group of women under what appeared to be a carefully planned deception.
Narrating her ordeal, she said, “I was washing clothes in the morning when I was told that one of the women had taken my child to go and buy biscuits. I immediately asked my older children to go and bring him back because it was time for his medication; he is not well.”
She said when her older children could not find the woman, she came downstairs and met two other women sitting calmly in the compound.
“They told me not to be angry and said the woman had only gone to buy biscuits,” she recounted. “I insisted that I wanted my child immediately so I could give him his drugs. They asked me to wait, saying they wanted to call her.”
Mrs. Oluchi said she went briefly into her room to change clothes, but when she returned, neighbours told her they had seen one of the women boarding a commercial tricycle, popularly known as a keke.
“I raised an alarm immediately and people gathered. But the two other women had also disappeared,” she said.
Both women said their husbands were not at home at the time of the incident.
Residents described the incident as daring and traumatic, with many now fearing for the safety of their children.
The victims and community members have appealed to the public to remain vigilant and report any suspicious movement involving women travelling with toddlers matching the description of the abducted children.
An emergency contact number, 07080240088, has been circulated, urging anyone with useful information to immediately reach out to the nearest police station.
The Ebonyi State Police Command has confirmed the incident.
When contacted, Police Public Relations Officer SP Joshua Ukandu confirmed that the case had been reported at the Central Police Station (CPS) in Abakaliki, adding that an investigation is ongoing to track the suspects and secure the safe return of the children.
“The Commissioner of Police had earlier advised landlords and residents to properly verify the identities of strangers and prospective tenants and to demand guarantors before offering accommodation,” he said.
The incident adds to growing concerns over child abductions and human trafficking in parts of the South-East.
