Chairman of Ughelli North Local Government Area of Delta State, Mr. Jaro Egbo, has dismissed reports that over 50 children have gone missing in Agbarho community, insisting that only three cases of child theft have so far been confirmed.
Egbo, who spoke Thursday morning on Arise Television, described the viral reports as “an exaggeration of the true position of the situation.”
He explained that his intervention followed a protest by women of Agbarho, who last week alleged that dozens of children had disappeared in recent months without any concrete action from government or security agencies.
According to Egbo, after the protest, he visited the community and held meetings with the Ovie of Agbarho Kingdom, the market women leader, and the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) to get firsthand information.
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“In the process, I called out for those whose children had allegedly been stolen to come forward. Surprisingly, only two women did. One was the mother of a set of twins, of which one was stolen, and the other was another woman who had lost her child. The third case was a more recent report. Altogether, three cases have been established, not 50 as being circulated,” Egbo clarified.
He also recalled that in May this year, a scavenger was caught after abducting a child and concealing the baby inside a sack. That incident, he said, prompted the ban on scavengers in Agbarho town.
While condemning the abduction of children, the chairman assured that government was working with security agencies to ensure the safe return of the missing children and to prevent further incidents.
It would be recalled that women of Agbarho staged a mass protest on Tuesday last week over what they described as a “sudden outbreak of child theft” in the community.
The protesters alleged that more than 50 children had gone missing in recent months, demanding immediate government intervention. They also called for a three-day suspension of all commercial activities in the kingdom and urged traditional leaders to deploy cultural methods to uncover those behind the menace.
Tension, however, escalated on Wednesday when an angry mob lynched a woman alleged to have attempted to steal a baby in Agbarho.
Details of the incident were still sketchy at press time, but a viral video circulating on social media showed the mob forcing a tire over the woman before setting her ablaze. Security operatives were yet to issue an official statement on the development.
