Joe Effiong, Uyo
Two persons, suspected to be kingpins in human trafficking specialising in buying unborn babies in Akwa Ibom State, have been arrested by the Uyo zonal command of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP).
NAPTIP Zonal Commander, Nduka Nwanwenne, who disclosed this to Daily Sun, yesterday, said the suspects Okokon Bassey and Ofonime Bassey were arrested in the early hours of Tuesday.
The suspects, according to Nwanwenne, had approached one Emmanuel Monday and his wife, who is pregnant and a mother of two children to buy the unborn baby for N500,000.
The zonal commander said officials of the agency, who were informed of the offer, advised the couple to agree to the terms of the suspects.
Accordingly, the victims were said to have requested N10,000 from the suspects as a form of commitment and a sign of seriousness.
It was gathered 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 explained that a search is on to find him, adding that the arrested suspects have made useful statements and would be charged to court.
“Uyo zonal command of NAPTIP has apprehended two suspects, namely Okokon Bassey, ‘M’, 33 and Ofonime Bassey, ‘F’, 40, for human trafficking.
“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 purchase 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 N10,000 from the suspects to show their seriousness.
“Upon the payment of the N10,000 to the victims the pregnant woman, along with their two kids were handed over to the suspects,” the statement reads.