The Niger State Police Command has arrested three suspects for kidnapping children in the Suleja Local Government Area. According to a statement from the command’s Public Relations Officer, DSP Wasiu Abiodun, the suspects were apprehended in Abuja. The individuals identified are Saviour Ebuka, 20, and Mary Peter, 25, who were arrested at Tunga‑Maje through the Gwagwalada area of the FCT on 20 January 2023 and 18 February 2023, respectively. They are alleged to have been involved in the abduction of two siblings, aged three and five, from their home in Suleja last year.
The incident was first reported on 20 October 2022 at about 11:25 hrs in “B” Division, Suleja, when two children, a boy and a girl aged five and three, went missing. Police suspected that a new tenant who had recently moved into the compound was responsible. After the kidnapping, the children were taken to an orphanage home in Abuja where a ransom was paid.
During interrogation, Saviour confessed that he had conspired with two accomplices, Ifeoma and Patience, who remain at large. He claimed that Ifeoma agreed to pay him and Patience N250,000 each; Patience received the payment, but Saviour has not yet been paid. The children were initially taken to Ifeoma’s illegal orphanage, “Famous Kids Home,” but she later fled and transferred the children to another caretaker.
Investigators later identified Chinwe Egwu, 49, of Lugbe, Abuja, as the illegal custodian. On 13 March 2023, police arrested Chinwe at her “Adorable Orphanage Home,” rescuing seven children, including the two siblings, Abdullahi Umar (5) and Rahamat Umar (3). The five other children were handed over to the Federal Capital Territory’s Social Welfare Department.
On 14 March 2023, three additional children abducted from other locations in Suleja and Tafa were also rescued from Chinwe’s custody following her confessions. Police continue to pursue the remaining suspects, including Ifeoma and Patience, and have pledged to prosecute all arrested individuals once the investigation is complete.
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