Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri of Adamawa State on Wednesday reunited 14 abducted children with their families after they were rescued from traffickers in Anambra State.
Speaking during the official handover ceremony at Government House, Yola, Fintiri, represented by his deputy, Prof. Kaletapwa Farauta, narrated how the combined efforts of security agencies led to the rescue of the children and the arrest of the suspected kidnap kingpin, identified as Ngozi Abdulwahab, a middle-aged woman of Igbo extraction.
The governor explained that intelligence reports in July 2025 revealed a string of missing children, mostly minors, which prompted swift action by security operatives including the police, the Department of State Services, and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps.
“This notorious trafficker perfected the art of trafficking minors aged four to 9 years from various communities in Adamawa State to the South-East, where she sold the victims for paltry sums ranging from N800,000 to N1.7m per child,” Farauta said on behalf of the governor.
The suspect allegedly operated from a small provision shop at Jambutu ward in Yola North Local Government Area, where she lured unsuspecting children with snacks and gifts.
Farauta described the crime as “monstrous and traumatic,” vowing that the culprits would be brought to justice.
“We have ordered the immediate prosecution of the suspects under the Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Enforcement and Administration Act, 2015, the Adamawa State Child Protection Law (2008), the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Law, 2021, and the Penal Code of Adamawa State,” she declared.
She warned parents against negligence and urged them not to send children under the age of 10 on errands or to school unaccompanied.
