Father Arrested for Attempting to Sell Daughter in Nigeria

On September 7, 2026, the State Police Command arrested a father and three accomplices suspected of attempting to sell his 16-month-old biological daughter as part of a money-driven child trafficking scheme. The arrests were made by operatives from the State Criminal Investigation Department's Gender Unit at a hotel in Obi, located within the Obingwa Local Government Area.

Commissioner Wilfred Afolabi announced the arrests during a briefing on the command's achievements since he took office on August 10. Preliminary investigations revealed that the child was indeed the biological daughter of one of the suspects, and the motive behind the trafficking attempt was financial gain.

The child has been placed in the care of the Ministry of Women Affairs, while all four suspects remain in police custody as investigations continue. Afolabi also reported that the command had recorded over 152 criminal cases and arrested more than 220 suspects since his assumption of office.