Sixteen children, believed to be victims of trafficking, have been rescued from their abductors in the Osuoha area of Port Harcourt.
The incident gained widespread attention after a video surfaced on social media showing the children, with a plea for good Samaritans to help identify their parents.
Although the Rivers State Police Command has yet to officially comment on the situation, and messages sent to the Public Relations Officer remain unanswered, investigations by our correspondent have provided some insight.
A police source, who spoke anonymously due to lack of authorization, revealed that a disturbance occurred at a compound in Ozuoba when two women, suspected members of a human trafficking ring, were arrested by plainclothes operatives from an unidentified security agency. These women had been acting as guardians to the children until their arrest.
The children caused a melée in the aftermath and the ensuing commotion led to the Divisional Police Officer of the Ozuoba division, who took all of them into custody.
It has since been confirmed that the children were moved from Ozuoba Police Station to the CP Monitoring Unit at the Old GRA Police Station, where they are currently under protective police custody.
Interestingly, at the time of this report, the police are still trying to locate the two women and identify the agency responsible for their arrest.
The rescued children, ranging in age from 5 to 16 years, include nine girls and seven boys.
This is not the first instance in which the Rivers State Police Command has dealt with child trafficking cases in the state.