The family of Mr. Okechukwu Ani from Onungeneoma Ugbuawka, Nkanu East LGA in Enugu State, has raised serious allegations against the Enugu State Police Command, accusing them of shielding suspects involved in the abduction and trafficking of their son. In a petition dated August 5, 2024, and addressed to the Inspector General of Police (IGP), the family’s lawyer, Samuel Abazie, detailed the troubling case involving the kidnapping of Master Godwin Ani.

According to the petition, the child was allegedly kidnapped by Mr. Peter Chiadikaobi Igiri, who is currently awaiting trial at the Enugu Custodial Centre. During investigations, Mr. Igiri reportedly confessed to selling the boy to Mrs. Caroline C. Ani, who then sold him to an unknown buyer. Despite this, the police released Mrs. Ani on bail, citing a lack of direct evidence linking her to the crime.

The petition further reveals that Mr. Igiri and Mrs. Ani are part of a broader child trafficking syndicate, responsible for the sale of numerous children. Investigations uncovered that Mrs. Ani, along with her associates, had also sold three of Mr. Igiri’s own children. Financial records allegedly show that Mrs. Ani received a payment of N850,000 from Mrs. Chibuzo Iheoma Okereke, a nurse at the University Teaching Hospital Port Harcourt, for the purchase of a three-month-old baby.

Despite these findings, the family claims that the police have refused to re-arrest Mrs. Caroline Ani and her daughter-in-law, Mrs. Ebere Ani, both of whom are implicated in the trafficking ring. The Ani family is now urging the IGP to intervene and ensure that justice is served, warning that allowing the suspects to go unpunished could lead to public outrage.

When contacted for a response, the Public Relations Officer of the Enugu State Police Command, DSP Daniel Ndukwe, asked which authority the petition was addressed to but did not provide further comment at the time of reporting.