Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
Two teenage boys, who were playing near a riverbank in Ute, Ondo State, were lured away by strangers claiming their father wanted to see them in Ogbese. Instead of a family reunion, the minors were trafficked to Benin City, Edo State, sold for N18,000 each, and forced into street hawking for four months before being traced by police and reunited with their families. Three suspects — John Ushie (32), Innocent Ushie (50), and Evelyn Innocent (38) — have been remanded in custody after pleading not guilty to multiple charges of child trafficking, abduction and slavery-related offences. The victims, aged 14 and 15 at the time of their abduction in November 2025, testified before an Akure Magistrate’s Court that they spent about four months in captivity, were separated for two months, and were later resold to another person for ₦76,000. The case has been adjourned to August 4, 2026, with a directive to transfer the matter to the Family Magistrate Court in Akure.
According to the prosecution, led by Police Prosecutor ASP Augustine Omheneimhen, the offences occurred around 9 a.m. at No. 1 Chama Street, Ute, in Ondo State. The two boys were playing or relaxing near a riverbank when the defendants approached them and falsely claimed that their father wished to see them in the Ogbese area. Trusting the men, the minors agreed to follow. Instead of being taken to their father, they were first moved to the Utesi area, where they spent a night in captivity. The following day, they were transported to Benin City, Edo State — a well-known hub for human trafficking operations — where they were sold for N18,000 each to the wife of one of the defendants' brothers. Once in captivity, the boys were given trays and forced to hawk goods on the busy streets of Benin City. For four months, the minors endured forced labour, living in conditions of severe deprivation. For two of those months, they were separated from each other. In a shocking twist revealed in court, the boys were later resold to another individual for a higher sum of N76,000. The breakthrough in the case came when the suspects contacted the victims' parents and demanded an additional payment of N10,000. That contact allowed the police to trace the boys’ location, leading to their rescue and eventual reunion with their families. The victims have since given statements that have been used as key evidence in the prosecution’s case.
The three defendants were formally arraigned on charges of child trafficking, abduction and slavery-related offences. According to the prosecutor, their actions contravened Section 369 of the Criminal Code Law of Ondo State and were punishable under Sections 369(2), (6) and (7), as well as Section 362 of the same code. Despite the severity of the allegations, all three defendants pleaded not guilty during their court appearance. Prosecutor Omheneimhen urged the court to remand the defendants in separate correctional facilities pending legal advice from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP). He cited statements obtained from the victims and the first defendant as providing sufficient grounds for the court to take that step. In her ruling, Presiding Magistrate O. Lebi ordered that the three defendants be remanded at the correctional centre in Ondo City. The magistrate also directed that the case be transferred to the Family Magistrate Court in Akure and adjourned further proceedings until August 4, 2026.
Child trafficking remains a pervasive crisis in Nigeria, driven by poverty, family breakdown and weak enforcement. Edo State, where the victims were taken, has been repeatedly identified by the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) as a major source and destination for human trafficking, particularly for forced labour and sexual exploitation. Traffickers increasingly use fake emergency claims, such as a parent's request to meet, to lure vulnerable minors, a tactic closely resembling the Ondo case. In recent months, NAPTIP has uncovered suspected child trafficking networks linked to orphanage activities in Enugu State, rescued victims in Niger State, and secured the conviction of two security guards for the repeated rape of a young girl in Abuja. Yet, for every rescued child, countless others remain trapped in the shadows of Benin City's bustling markets, hawking goods for traffickers who bought them for sums as low as N18,000.
The Ondo case is not the first time children have been sold for such meagre amounts. In a separate incident reported in April 2026, two children aged three and eight were rescued after security operatives stormed a location linked to an alleged trafficker. A couple in Cross River State was also arrested in 2024 for child theft and trafficking. The persistence of these crimes has prompted NAPTIP to declare that 2026 will be an extremely difficult year for human traffickers operating in the country. The agency has warned that the exploitation of vulnerable minors under the guise of care arrangements will be met with the full force of the law. For the two teenage boys from Ute, Ondo State, justice has begun to take shape, but the trauma of four months in captivity, the separation from each other, and the knowledge that they were sold not once but twice will linger long after the last court session has ended. Their parents, who paid no ransom but were instead contacted by the traffickers to demand more money, now face the long road of rebuilding trust and restoring their children's sense of safety. As the August 4, 2026 court date approaches, the three accused traffickers await their fate in the correctional centre in Ondo City. The boys, now aged 15 and 17, will hopefully be able to look back on this chapter as one that ended not in continued exploitation, but in a measure of justice.
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