The Edo Zonal Command of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) has apprehended an impostor posing as a Reverend sister for allegedly trafficking 38 children in Delta State.
According to reports, the suspect, identified as Ikejimba Maryvianney (also known as Oluchi), aged 40, along with an accomplice named Chidera (currently evading arrest), purportedly transferred the children to two orphanage homes, claiming to offer them better care.
The children, originally from a farm community in Enugu-Awka camp by Monastery, Ilah, Delta State, were handed over to the suspects by their parents.
Maryvianney was apprehended by NAPTIP following a tip-off. Confirming the incident, NAPTIP Zonal Commander in Benin, Nduka Nwanwenne, revealed that the suspect is in custody.
Claiming to be trained as a Reverend Sister in Ghana, Maryvianney asserted that their headquarters is in the Philippines. She persuaded parents to entrust their children to them, promising improved care.
Nwanwenne stated, “32 of the children have been rescued, while six, aged three to six years old, remain unrecovered.” Maryvianney alleges that three of the missing children are in Badagry, and the other three are in Ogun State, but later confessed they were adopted in the East.
The agency continues to pursue the at-large accomplice, emphasizing that charges will be pressed once the investigation concludes. Parents are cautioned to exercise vigilance and skepticism when entrusting their children to others.
