No fewer than 33 underage girls have been rescued by men of the Anambra State Police Command, who dismantled a child trafficking syndicate operating from a compound in Awkuzu, Oyi Local Government Area of the state.
The raid was part of an ongoing investigation into cases of kidnapping, abduction, missing children, and child trafficking.
SP Tochukwu Ikenga, the state’s police public relations officer, announced this in a press statement published on Wednesday.
Ikenga stated that three youngsters who had been kidnapped in Ebonyi State on September 26, 2025, and brought to an unknown destination were discovered and rescued.
He stated that operatives of the Anambra State Police Command attached to the Rapid Response Squad, Awkuzu, carried out the raid on Wednesday, arresting one suspect in the process.
The statement read in part, “Operatives of the Anambra State Police Command attached to the Rapid Response Squad, Awkuzu, on January 7, 2026, recorded a breakthrough in an ongoing investigation involving cases of kidnapping, abduction, missing children, and child trafficking.
“The operatives arrested a female suspect, one Ifeoma Success Anthony, aged 37, and rescued 33 underage girls from a house in Awkuzu.
“This feat followed a distress report received through the Police Command Control Room from relatives of the victims, who reported that their three children—Divine Mbam (female, 14 years), Nwagu Favour (female, 15 years), and Oke Blessing (female, 18 years)—abducted since September 26, 2025, in Ebonyi State, were sighted at Emma Pigin Road, Aguleri.
“Preliminary investigations revealed that the building where the girls were kept is allegedly used for child trafficking and prostitution and is owned by one Mrs. Ngozi Nnanyelugo (female), aged 45 years, who is currently at large.
“Efforts are ongoing to arrest the principal suspect, while investigations continue to determine the full extent of the crime and identify other accomplices. Further developments will be communicated in due course.”
Ikenga emphasized the command’s commitment to protecting lives and property, particularly vulnerable children, and urged the public to continue giving valuable information to aid ongoing investigations.
The Anambra State Police Command on October 29, 2025, rescued a newborn baby following the arrest of four suspects linked to child trafficking in Ifite-Awkuzu, also in the Oyi Local Government Area.
In a statement at the time, Ikenga stated that agents from the Rapid Response Squad in Awkuzu, acting on credible intelligence, detained the suspects in the early hours of Tuesday.
He stated that during the raid, police rescued a one-week-old baby girl and detained four female suspects for conspiracy and child trafficking.
