A husband and wife have been arrested by the operatives of the Akwa Ibom State Command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), for allegedly trying to sell their two daughters, aged 6 and 4.
The husband, Elisha Effiong, 40 who lives in Cameroon with his wife was arrested in Uyo on November 15, 2021, through an intelligence report while trying to sell their children, identified as Abasifreke Edet and Rachael Edet.
The command’s Public Relations Officer, Umana Ukeme, in a statement issued on Wednesday, noted that the suspects said their decision to sell the children was out of extreme hardship.
According to Ukeme, Effiong told a private security guard of his plans while the guard, in turn, notified the commandant of the corps Mr Abidemi Majekodunmi, who immediately ordered the arrest of the culprit.
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He noted that the suspect was arrested at FulCare Hospital along Ekpanya Street, where he notified the security guard of his intention to sell his two children to pay off his debt and meet other financial needs.
Ukeme disclosed that preliminary investigations have been concluded while the case would be transferred to NAPTIP zonal office, Uyo for the prosecution of the suspect.
The commandant commended the private security guard for the prompt release of the intelligence report that aided the arrest of the suspect. He, however, condemned the heinous act, describing it as a crime against humanity.
He called on the good people of Akwa Ibom State to always avail personnel of the corps with timely and actionable intelligence that would lead to the arrest and tracking of criminal elements in the state.