In Delta State, a story of unimaginable grief, desperation, and criminal intent has left families shattered and a community deeply shaken. What began as a private tragedy within one home spiraled into a disturbing case of child abduction, sparking outrage, sorrow, and urgent questions about child protection across Nigeria. FELIX IGBEKOYI chronicles the saga that shook the state.
Globally, children are regarded as sacred gifts, innocent lives to be nurtured and protected. Under Article 19 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, governments are obliged to protect children from violence, exploitation, abuse, and neglect. Yet in Delta State, that protection was brutally tested in a case that defied comprehension.
Only recently, the Delta State Police command uncovered a deeply unsettling incident involving a woman who allegedly abducted two infants after losing her own newborn twins. According to investigators, her motive was not financial gain, but a chilling attempt to conceal personal tragedy ahead of a planned child dedication ceremony.
For the biological parents of the stolen children, life had already been defined by daily struggle, working tirelessly to provide for their families. But that fragile balance was destroyed in an instant when their babies vanished.
What followed was not just a search; it was anguish stretched across days, weeks, and sleepless nights.
One of the grieving mothers, who preferred anonymity, as her family is already demoralised, her voice heavy with exhaustion and pain, described the torment of living each day without her child. She said the pain was relentless, a constant cycle of hope and disappointment, as she searched endlessly with no answers.
She said each passing day deepened her despair.
At her lowest point, she admitted she felt abandoned by fate itself, forced to endure a suffering no parent should ever experience.
The second victim, who also pleaded for privacy, shared a similar story of emotional collapse, describing how sorrow overtook her household. She and her husband watched helplessly as hope gradually faded, despite exhausting every possible avenue to find their child.
LEADERSHIP Sunday writes that although money was spent and efforts multiplied, vigils were kept. Yet nothing seemed to bring relief.
“There is no time I will be alone without thinking of my baby one of the demoralised mothers said. There is nothing I have not done to search for my baby. I go to different churches and sow seeds. I shed tears every day. The gruelling heartaches persisted for days,” she said, her voice breaking under the weight of memory.
After the suspect was paraded by the police, one of the mothers expressed gratitude to the Delta State Police Command, saying that upon seeing their children again, they immediately recognised them.
The first mother said, “I give thanks to God. I recognised my child immediately I set my eyes on the baby,” she said, overwhelmed with relief.
The Delta State police command had, in May 2026, intensified operations against child trafficking and related crimes, leading to multiple rescues and arrests across Warri and Effurun.
In one operation, officers of the Quick Response Squad (QRS), Warri, rescued a two-year-old child suspected of being abducted and prevented a mob from lynching the suspect at Igbudu Market.
The suspect, identified as 29-year-old Fejiro Obaduemu of Idesor Street, Isi Layout, Warri, was intercepted after being found with a child concealed inside a sack bag, raising immediate suspicion.
Police intervention not only saved the child but also protected the suspect from being mobbed by angry residents. He was later taken to a medical facility after sustaining injuries during the incident.
Subsequent investigations resulted in the child’s reunion with their parents in the presence of community leaders.
Preliminary findings revealed that the suspect allegedly confessed that he had been instructed by an unidentified individual to carry out the abduction.
Delta State Police commissioner, CP Yemi Oyeniyi, reiterated the command’s commitment to protecting children and combating human trafficking, while urging parents and guardians to be more vigilant.
