N1.5m for Street Kids: Four Women Busted in Abuja Child Trafficking Ring

The Federal Capital Territory Police Command has smashed an alleged child trafficking network operating in Abuja, arresting four women and recovering a five-year-old girl whose family is yet to be identified.

The suspects, paraded on Tuesday, claimed they were recruited by a woman identified as Madame (or Madam) Mary Nkechi. She allegedly promised to place vulnerable or street children in an orphanage under the guise of providing shelter and education, while offering payments of up to N1.5 million — money the women said was to be shared among those involved.

Some of the suspects told journalists they first met the alleged recruiter at Dunamis Church in Lugbe. Police emphasised that these claims have not been independently verified and presented no evidence linking the church as an institution to the alleged crimes.

One of the arrested women, Rose David, 47, said Nkechi instructed her to bring children found wandering the streets, claiming she had government approval for the scheme. “She said that she was helping, that government had approved it, that only children roaming around the street that don’t have help could be brought to her,” David told reporters. She admitted taking one child to the woman before her arrest; the child was recovered immediately.

Another suspect, Usman Blessing from Benue State, described a similar pitch involving orphanage care and financial compensation. She acknowledged an earlier case involving a child but denied knowledge of the recovered five-year-old.

A third, identified as Joy from Kogi State, denied involvement in the latest incident or taking any child to Onitsha, though she admitted receiving N370,000 linked to an earlier arrangement with Nkechi.

Rose Michael, also from Kogi State, claimed she worked as a cleaner for Nkechi and was instructed to deliver a baby to a woman in Lagos. She said she believed the child was an orphan and made more than one such trip, receiving N200,000 for one return journey.

Contact details for the recipients, she alleged, were given by telephone.

Police revealed that two of the women had previously been arrested, prosecuted and sentenced in connection with similar offences around 2024 or 2025, serving about four months before their release. Accounts of their earlier court processes differed among the suspects.

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Investigators are still working to establish the identity of the recovered five-year-old girl and locate her biological parents. Anyone claiming parentage will undergo verification, including DNA testing, before the child can be released.

The command has appealed to members of the public who may recognise the girl or have information about her family to come forward.
The arrests form part of an expanded probe into alleged child abduction and trafficking in the FCT. Police continue to investigate the full extent of the network and the role of the still-at-large Madam Nkechi.

Residents are urged to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activity involving children immediately to the nearest police station or through official emergency lines. “When you see something, you say something. If you say something, we will do something,” the command stated, assuring informants of confidentiality.

This case adds to a troubling pattern of child trafficking incidents in Abuja, where some previous suspects have been accused of using disguises such as hijabs to approach and abduct children before selling them outside the territory. The FCT Police Command says investigations remain ongoing and the suspects will be charged to court upon conclusion of probes.