The Anambra State Police Command has arrested a 63-year-old woman, Ngozi Muotuanya, from the Awkuzu-Oba area, over allegations of child theft and suspected involvement in an interstate child trafficking syndicate.
Police said the suspect allegedly stole a male child, about one year old, in Minna, Niger State, in 2024 and sold him to an unsuspecting buyer in Anambra. According to the command’s spokesperson, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, the buyer later resold the child, but on August 4, 2025, the last custodian, upon discovering the child had been stolen, returned him to Muotuanya.
The suspect is alleged to have abandoned the boy at an unidentified church in Minna, where he was eventually rescued by the leader of the Igbo Community in the area. The Anambra police have since shared details of the child’s location with the Niger State Police Command for recovery and reunion with his parents.
Ikenga said Muotuanya was arrested on August 11 by operatives from the Oba Division after credible intelligence. She will be transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department in Awka for further investigation and prosecution.
