NAPTIP arrests female cleric for trafficking 38 children
The Edo Zonal Command of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons has apprehended a compassionate woman who posed as a fake Reverend sister and allegedly played a role in the trafficking of 38 children in Delta State.
Yhe suspect, who goes by the name Ikejimba Maryvianney (also known as Oluchi), aged 40, along with an accomplice named Chidera (currently at large), entrusted the children to two orphanages, claiming to provide them with improved care.
The children were given to the suspects by their parents at a farm community in Enugu-Awka camp located near the Monastery in Ilah, Delta State.
Acting on a tip-off, Maryvianney was apprehended by the NAPTIP. Zonal Commander Nduka Nwanwenne in Benin confirmed the incident, stating that the suspect is currently in custody.
According to NAPTIP, the suspect purportedly asserted to have received training as a Reverend sister in Ghana, although their headquarters are based in the Philippines. Maryvianney allegedly convinced the parents to allow their children to join them at their orphanage homes, where they were promised better care.
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He added, “To convince the parents when they were handed over the first batch of the children, he said the suspects asked two of the parents to follow them to know the two orphanage homes the children would stay’.
“32 of the children have been recovered by the agency while six who are between the ages of three and six years old are yet to be recovered
“The suspect claims that three of the six children are in Badagry while the other three are in Ogun State but later said they have been adopted by people in the East.”
He said the agency was still on the trail of the other suspect who is at large and that the suspect would be charged in court as soon as the investigation is concluded.
He warned parents to be vigilant and never trust anybody with their kids without asking fundamental questions.
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