POLICE in Ondo State have rescued a four-year-old girl who was abducted and sold for ₦3.7 million by a suspected child-trafficking syndicate operating across Ondo, Delta, and Anambra States.

The case began on February 3, 2025, when Sunday Kingsley, a resident of Alagbaka Extension, Akure, reported that his daughter, Jesinta Sunday, had gone missing while in the custody of her mother, Sunday Happiness.

According to a statement released yesterday by police spokesperson Olusola Ayanlade, the case was immediately transferred to the Monitoring Unit of the State Command Headquarters.

Investigations led to the arraignment of Jesinta’s mother, Sunday Happiness, and another woman, Nneka Onah, at the Family Magistrate Court, where they were remanded at the Ondo Correctional Centre before later being granted bail.

The breakthrough came on July 9, 2025, when Kingsley alerted police that his daughter had been sighted in Asaba, Delta State.

Officers from the Command’s Gender Desk Team swiftly launched an operation, recovering Jesinta and reuniting her with her family in Akure.

Further investigations exposed the syndicate behind the abduction. A suspect, Amaka Chukwuemeka, 30, confessed to purchasing the child for ₦3.7 million.

She told police that she was introduced by her friend, Chinaza Owoh (38), to Mabel Esimai (58), who handed her the child under the pretense of a legal adoption, backed by forged documents.

Esimai, upon arrest, revealed that she had received Jesinta from Chioma Okechukwu (37), who instructed her to secure a buyer.

The Ondo State Commissioner of Police, Adebowale Lawal, commended the Gender Desk Team for successfully dismantling the network and recovering the child.

He vowed that the command would continue investigations to apprehend all accomplices and ensure they face prosecution.

“Ondo State cannot and will not serve as a safe haven for child traffickers or criminal syndicates,” Lawal declared.

The police confirmed that the suspects are in custody and further investigations are ongoing.