In a chilling development that has rocked Ebonyi State, the Nigeria Police Force has summoned two top officials—Mr. Nkwuda Emmanuel, Head of Child Development at the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development, and Mrs. Nneka Akam, Officer-in-Charge of Legal at the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Ebonyi State Command—for interrogation over their alleged involvement in a horrifying child trafficking case.
The case, now under full-scale criminal investigation, centers on the alleged sale of a newborn baby boy—reportedly for a staggering N25 million—by personnel of the Ebonyi State Police Command. The mother of the baby, Susannah Nwanneka Nweze, was allegedly abducted, detained, and forced to deliver her child at a police medical facility without the consent or knowledge of her family.
The scandal came to light following an explosive petition filed by the family of Mr. Nweze Philip Obasi from Umuobuna Etiti Uburu, Ohaozara Local Government Area of Ebonyi State. The family accused key police and NSCDC officials of a coordinated conspiracy involving abduction, child trafficking, unlawful arrest, and falsification of records to cover up the crime.
In the petition, the family pointed fingers at SP Loveth Uche, the officer in charge of the Juvenile and Women Centre (JWC), and two police inspectors under her command. They alleged that these officers orchestrated the illegal sale of the infant, acting in collusion with others in the security and civil service sectors.
According to the family, Nwanneka was taken against her will to a police clinic, where she gave birth. The newborn was then allegedly sold to an unidentified buyer, while the mother was unlawfully detained by NSCDC personnel. Adding insult to injury, the officer in charge of legal matters at NSCDC allegedly altered Nwanneka’s extrajudicial statement in an attempt to distort the facts and obstruct justice.
As public outrage mounted following multiple investigative reports by SaharaReporters, the NSCDC hastily transferred the case to the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), asserting that the agency holds the statutory mandate to handle such grave offenses.
In a significant move that underscores the seriousness of the case, SaharaReporters obtained exclusive copies of separate police summons addressed to the Commissioner for Women Affairs and the NSCDC Commandant in Ebonyi. The letters, dated July 29, 2025, and signed by Deputy Commissioner of Police Ime Bassey Usanga on behalf of the Assistant Inspector General of Police at the Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID) Annex in Enugu, demand the immediate release of the accused officers for interrogation.
Ref: CR:3000/X/FCID/ANX/ENS/TC/VOL.3/160 and CR:3000/X/FCID/ANX/ENS/TC/VOL.3/161 titled “Police Invitation” reads in part:
> “This office is investigating the afore-mentioned subject matter in which a personnel working under you featured prominently.
Given the foregoing and in furtherance of the investigation, you are hereby requested to warn and release Mr. Nkwuda Emmanuel, HOD Child Development Department, Abakaliki, Ebonyi State to interface with the undersigned on Friday 1st August, 2025 by 10:00am.
On arrival, the O/C Team C of the formation shall be on ground to receive him accordingly.”
The invitation is a pivotal development in what is becoming one of the most disturbing child trafficking scandals in recent Nigerian history. Civil society groups, human rights advocates, and international watchdogs are closely monitoring the unfolding investigation, demanding swift justice for the victim and her child.
As the nation awaits the outcome of the ongoing inquiry, the case serves as a harrowing reminder of the deep rot that exists within certain arms of Nigeria’s law enforcement and social service systems—where those sworn to protect the vulnerable allegedly prey on them for profit.
PIONEER NEWS 