By Chijioke Agwu, Abakaliki
A human rights group based in Ebonyi State, has alleged plot by the Police in the state to shield a suspected child trafficker and three of its officers indicted in a cover up of a child trafficker earlier arrested by the command from prosecution.
The group, Human Rights Crusaders, made the accusation in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State capital.
According to the Coordinator, Idam Emma Prince, the group has already petitioned the Commissioner of Police in the state over the alleged criminal involvement and complicity of three officers of the command on the saga.
He also alleged threats to his life by the Police officers involved and the child traffickers.
The said petition, a copy of which was obtained by our reporter, accused the three officers of collecting N500,000 bribe from a notorious child trafficker in exchange for his freedom after he was arrested.
The petition gave the first names of the three officers as Ferdinand, Emeka and Kelvin.
According to their petition, one Onyebuchi Ikpor Offeh reported to the human rights group about a group of people that had been coming to his mother’s shop located at Amasiri junction in Afikpo North Local Government Area of the state to engage in child trafficking.
“We asked him how he can identify this group and he told us that he collected their phone numbers and promised them that he had two children for sale, a male and female at N400,000 and N300,000, respectively”.
“We asked him to call them on phone and put the phone on speaker which he did to enable us to confirm what he was saying”.
The petitioners said at this point they contacted a police officer near their office who directed them to officers of the Federal Investigation Bureau, Afikpo Annex.
“It was at this juncture that we met Emeka and Kelvin who identified themselves as officers of the FIB Afikpo Office. The said Offeh narrated the story to the officers after which he called the traffickers on phone.
The officers later called Sergeant Ferdinand claiming he was the officer in charge of their office and the same process was repeated to him.
“From discussions with the traffickers, it was agreed that on the Friday 10th day of June 2016, we had to take off to Okigwe, where they agreed to meet with Onuabuchi Ikpor Offeh for the transaction”.
The traffickers were cajoled and later apprehended in Umuahia, the Abia State capital by the Officers in an operation which had the Coordinator of the human rights group, Idam Emma Prince as an observer.
But the officers began playing hide and seek as soon as they crossed the boundary into Ebonyi State.
First, they took a detour to a Police post in Ishiagu, Ivo Local Government Area instead of proceeding to the Afikpo Local Government Area. There they interrogated the trafficker who allegedly confessed to the crime.
“After interrogating the trafficker, we left for Afikpo, on getting to Amasiri the officers ordered me and Onuabuchi to drop”, wrote Mr Idam.
According to him, he later traced the officers to their office in Afikpo.
“On reaching there, we saw their car parked in front of the office, then we knocked on the door and entered, we only saw Ferdinand and Kelvin, but the trafficker and Emeka were not there.
“Then Ferdinand asked us what we have come to do, I told him we have come to know the next line of action as we have brought the suspect to the station.
“He told us that we are not police but I told him that I also have an office to report to. It was then that he called on Emeka to bring the woman to their office, and immediately Emeka and the woman entered the office, one man came to bail her”.
Idam said that he insisted that the woman should not be bailed but should be detained at the divisional headquarters in Afikpo as it was late and then transferred the next day to Abakaliki.
But the officers refused to heed his advice but instead zoomed off with the woman, saying they were taking her to Abakaliki that night.
According to Mr Idam, Onuabuchi came to his house in the morning to report that the officers had collected a bribe of N500,000 and let the woman go. He said all efforts to contact the officers to know the status of the matter proved abortive as they refused to take their calls and later switched off their phones.
The coordinator said he was left with no choice but to report the matter to the Area Commander Afikpo who invited him to his office to make a formal statement and thereafter transferred the matter to the state headquarters.
He said at the headquarters he was advised to make a formal petition to the CP which he did.
He said that the day he came to report the matter to the Police in Abakliki he was threatened by some officers of the command inside the police station.
“Also they arraigned some people to be trailing me and they tried to abduct me the day I came to submit the petition to the CP”.
When contacted, the state Commissioner of Police ,CP Peace Ibekwe Abdallah, denied knowledge of the matter.
But a copy of the petition which was obtained by our reporter had the Commissioner’s official stamp and dated 20th of June 2016.