The Anambra State Police Command has arrested a 63-year-old woman, Ngozi Muotuanya, for allegedly abducting a one-year-old boy in Niger State and selling him in Anambra.
Muotuanya, a native of Awkuzu-Oba in the state, was apprehended by operatives attached to the Oba Police Division following intelligence reports.
The state’s police spokesperson, Tochukwu Ikenga, in a statement made available to journalists on Tuesday, stated that investigations revealed the suspect stole the child in Minna in 2024 and sold him to a buyer in Anambra.
“Preliminary investigations revealed that sometime in 2024, the suspect allegedly stole a male child, aged about one year, in Minna, Niger State, and sold him to an unsuspecting member of the public in Anambra State. The said suspect later resold the child to another person.
“However, on 4th August 2025, the receiver, upon realising that the child had been stolen, returned him to the principal suspect. The suspect, in turn, allegedly abandoned the child at an unascertained church in Minna, where he was later rescued by the leader of the Igbo community in Minna,” the statement read.
Meanwhile, Ikenga noted that the Command has relayed information about the child’s current custodian in Minna to the Niger State Police Command for possible recovery, reunification with his parents, and other necessary actions.
The suspect has been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Awka, for discreet investigation and prosecution.
