The owner of a popular orphanage in Delta State, Happy Home Orphanage, Mr. Ogugua Christopher, has been arraigned before a Kano State High Court for allegedly abducting and concealing two children from Kano.
Christopher, who operates the orphanage in Asaba, appeared before Justice Amina Adamu-Aliyu on Monday, alongside two alleged accomplices, Hauwa Abubakar and Nkechi Odlyne. They were charged with four counts of kidnapping and wrongful concealment of minors. All defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges.
According to the prosecution counsel, Ms. Khadija Aliyu-Umar, the crime occurred between May 1 and June 21, 2016, in Kawo and Tishama Hotoro areas of Kano. She alleged that the accused conspired to abduct two four-year-old children, identified as Ibrahim Nura and Maryam Suleiman, and later hid them at the Asaba-based orphanage.
Aliyu-Umar explained that the case initially carried a 15-count charge but was later streamlined to four counts under Sections 273 and 277 of the Kano State Penal Code, which deal with kidnapping and illegal custody of minors.
Defence counsel, Mr. H. M. Nwoye, applied for bail on behalf of his clients and urged the prosecution to release all relevant case materials to the defence for proper preparation.
Read also:
- Obaseki Visits Family of late Uwaila Omozuwa, Distributes Food items to Orphanages
- Oborevwori approves registration, monthly payment for 10,000 widows in Delta
- Elomaz Foundation donates relief materials to IDP camps
A senior officer of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), Suleiman Muhammad, informed the court that efforts were ongoing to apprehend and produce the two other defendants who failed to appear.
The case reportedly originated from a 2022 petition filed by the Protection Against Abduction and Trafficking of Our Children (PATAMOC), following the alarming disappearance of more than 600 children from Kano since 2010. NAPTIP confirmed that eight of the missing children have been rescued so far.
The development has sparked outrage among parents and child rights advocates in the North, who are demanding a full investigation into the alleged child trafficking network linked to orphanages operating across state lines. Many are also calling for stricter oversight of adoption and child care institutions to prevent similar cases of abduction and exploitation.
