According to the Rivers police, on Saturday, July 8 at around 5:00 p.m., members of the Commissioner of Police (CP) Monitoring Unit arrested Charles Michael along with six other people for selling his three children for N1.5 million.
Michael received N700,000, N500,000, and N350,000 for selling his five-year-old, two-year-old, and one-day-old children, respectively. In an interview with reporters, the suspect claimed that financial difficulties were to blame for his behavior since he was unable to care for the kids.
He said that he periodically sold the kids and used the money to create a salon for his wife, who has speech and hearing impairments. Additionally, he admitted to being tracked down by vigilantes in Omerelu, Ikwerre Council, Rivers State. Michael said that after being turned over to the Elele Police Division, he was sent to the CP Monitoring section.
When presenting the seven members of the child trafficking network, the state’s police public relations officer (PPRO), Grace Iringe-Koko, said that the arrest of the group was made possible by the confession of two suspects who had already been detained.
Iringe-Koko added that two communities, Omudiaga in Emohua Local Council of Rivers State and Ogbaku in Mbaitoli Local Council of Imo State, both underwent extensive investigations that resulted in the arrest of two individuals, Ndubuisi Egbueri and Ndubuisi Wosa and Chioma Anele, respectively.
She also mentioned that they admitted to receiving one of the infants, which they later gave to Regina Aki, a former councilwoman from Emohua Local Council, in Rukpokwu in the state’s Obio/ Akpor council.
Iringe-Koko added that Aki was also detained and that she had confessed to talking to Favour Amaewhule in Aluu in the Ikwerre LGA, where the day-old infant was sold in the sight of the child’s father, Michael Charles.
She continued by saying that Favour Amaewhule had been detained and had confessed to purchasing the child for N700,000. Meanwhile, Regina Aki and her partners had received N350,000 from Michael Charles, the baby’s father, and N700,000.
Iringe-Koko said that the search for the five-year-old was in full swing but that the two-year-old and the infant Amaewhule purchased had already been found.
Michael’s mother-in-law then revealed to reporters that the suspect had been telling her lies about her grandkids, particularly the most recent one, dying soon after delivery, prior to his arrest. She said that the guy was selling the kids while preying on her daughter’s special needs.
A police corporal named Bright Oke has been detained by Rivers State Police Command agents for suspected involvement in an armed robbery and car theft. Iringe-Koko said that the officer and three of his accomplices were caught trying to steal a Toyota Corolla at the Gateway axis of Ada George in the state’s Obio Akpor Local Council by members of the C41 intelligence unit.
She said that the cop, who has now been fired, had retrieved evidence, including single-barrel weapons. The four-man group proceeded to rob at Omoku in the Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Councils of the state, but had to first take a car at Ada George, according to Bright, who described his role in the crime.
He said that after successfully stealing the car, they were pursued by the C4i team after running into one of their patrol vans as they were leaving. According to him, under pressure from the pursuit, they crashed while attempting to flee, were apprehended by police, and were afterwards transported to the CP monitoring unit. He begged the commission for a second opportunity and said he was not informed of his dismissal.
