NAPTIN Arrests Two Suspects for Alleged Human Trafficking in Akwa Ibom
Two suspects have been arrested in Akwa Ibom State
by the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP)
for alleged human trafficking.
The Uyo Zonal Commander of NAPTIP, Mr. Nduka
Nwanwenne, who made this known in a statement issued to journalists in Uyo, the
state capital, on Wednesday, revealed that the agency is trailing the third suspect
who escaped.
Nwanwenne in the statement explained that the
suspects-Okokon Essien Bassey and Ofonime Essien Bassey-were arrested in the
early hours of Tuesday.
According to him, the suspects had approached one
Emmanuel Monday and his pregnant wife, a mother of two children, to buy the
unborn baby for the sum of N500, 000.
He said officials of the agency, who were informed
of the offer, advised the couple to agree to the terms of the suspects.
The couples were said to have requested for N10,
000 from the suspects as a form of commitment and a sign of seriousness.
The NAPTIP commander disclosed that on receipt of
the money, the woman and her two children were handed over to the suspects.
The suspects were said to have taken the woman and
her children to Port Harcourt on a motorcycle but were trailed by operatives of
the agency who arrested the suspects.
However, one of the suspects was said to have
escaped, but the agency said a search is on to find him, adding that the
arrested suspects have made useful statements and would be charged to court
soon.
According to him, "The Uyo Zonal Command of NAPTIP
has apprehended two suspects for human trafficking in an early hour operation. The
two suspects are Okokon Essien Bassey (male), 33, and Ofonime Essien Bassey (female),
40.
"The suspects had on several occasions
approached one Emmanuel Monday and his wife, who is a mother of two kids and
presently pregnant, and requested to buy the unborn baby for N500, 000.
"On receiving the intelligence, NAPTIP
operatives requested the victims to play along with the suspects.
"In the course of several meetings, the
victims demanded the sum of N10, 000 from the suspects to show their
seriousness in what they were being asked to do.
“Upon the payment of the N10, 000 to the
victims, the pregnant woman with their two children were handed over to the
suspects.”
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