Operatives of the Taraba State Police Command have arrested two women for allegedly abducting three young girls in Jalingo and attempting to traffic them to Adamawa State.
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The suspects, said to be from a South-East state, were apprehended at a filling station while travelling in a commercial vehicle with the children. According to police sources, the women were en route to Adamawa when the driver of the vehicle grew suspicious, noting that the girls did not resemble them. He reportedly raised the alarm with members of his transport union, who alerted the police, leading to the arrest.
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Investigations revealed that the two women, both said to be single, had rented a room about two weeks earlier in a house where the children’s parents reside. On Thursday morning, they allegedly deceived the mothers into allowing the girls to accompany them to the market. Instead, the women reportedly took the children to a motor park in Jalingo, where they chartered a vehicle bound for Adamawa State.
At the police station, the suspects allegedly confessed to taking the girls from the compound after misleading their mothers. The children have been identified as Ummul Shuaibu, Ummul Baba Gasal and Amina Abubakar, all aged between five and six.
Abubakar Kwalli, father of one of the girls, told Daily Trust that he and the other fathers were summoned to the Taraba State Police Command headquarters to identify the children, and were subsequently asked to bring the mothers for further verification before the girls could be released. He said the children broke down in tears upon reuniting with their mothers.
The Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Victor Mshelizah, confirmed the incident and the arrest of the two suspects, adding that investigations were ongoing and further details would be released once concluded.
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