Father Who Tried To Sell His 16-Year-Old Daughter Arrested, 3 Others in Custody

• Abia State Police arrested four suspects, including the child's biological father, over an alleged plan to traffic a 16-month-old girl
• The suspects were picked up at a hotel in Obingwa LGA on September 7, 2026, and transferred to SCID for further investigation
• Abia Commissioner of Police Wilfred Afolabi also revealed the command arrested over 220 suspects and rescued 9 kidnap victims since August 10

The Abia State Police Command has arrested a father and three others suspected of plotting to sell his 16-month-old biological daughter in what investigators described as a money-driven child trafflcking scheme.

Operatives from the State Criminal Investigation Department's Gender Unit apprehended the four suspects on September 7, 2026, at a hotel in Obi, within the Obingwa Local Government Area of Abia state.

Commissioner of Police Wilfred Afolabi disclosed the arrest on Friday while briefing journalists on what the command had achieved since he took office on August 10.

He said the suspects had been transferred from the Central Police Station in Umuahia "in connection with alleged conspiracy and child trafficklng."

Afolabi confirmed that preliminary investigation established the child was the biological daughter of one of the suspects, and that the motive behind the alleged trafflcking attempt was financial gain.

The infant has since been taken into the care of the Ministry of Women Affairs, while all four suspects remain in police custody as the investigation continues.

Abia police record over 220 arrests since August

Beyond the child trafflcking case, Afolabi used the briefing to highlight a broader range of security operations carried out under his watch. He said the command had recorded more than 152 criminal cases and arrested over 220 suspects since his assumption of office, with many of those cases already investigated and charged to court.

Other recorded achievements include the rescue of nine kidnapped victims, the recovery of 101 rounds of ammunition and cartridges, the retrieval of six stolen vehicles including tricycles and motorcycles, and the dismantling of two criminal networks.

Among the notable rescue operations was that of a medical doctor abducted by armed men on August 19. Afolabi said the victim was forced into his own vehicle before his abductors headed towards Imo State. Vehicle-tracking technology and coordinated intelligence work between the Abia and Imo State police commands led to the recovery of the vehicle and the rescue of the doctor in the early hours of August 20.

Several people suspected of involvement, including those allegedly linked to the movement of ransom funds, have been arrested, while the search for other members of the network continues.

The command also arrested a suspect connected to an armed robbery and kidnapping along the Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway in Aba, where a female victim was allegedly robbed of a Toyota Highlander, mobile phones, a handbag, and other personal belongings.

Woman nabbed for trying to sell 19-yr-old girl

Previously, Legit.ng reported that operatives from the Zone 2 Command of the Nigeria Police Force arrested a woman and an accomplice for allegedly trafflcking young girls, including her 19-year-old daughter, to Mauritania for commercial s*x work.

The suspects were arrested in Lagos state on March 22, 2024.