A Kano State High Court has remanded the owner of Asaba Orphanage Home, Mr Ogugua Christopher, in a correctional facility over alleged kidnapping and trafficking of several Kano children.
Christopher, who resides in Asaba, Delta State, is standing trial alongside two others — Hauwa Abubakar and Nkechi Odlyne — on a 15-count charge bordering on conspiracy and kidnapping.
The offences allegedly contravened Sections 97 and 273 of the Kano State Penal Code and Section 32(5) of the Children and Young Persons Law of Kano State.
According to the prosecution, the defendants conspired between June 21, 2016, and December 20, 2021, to abduct many children from Kano and sell them in Delta State.
During yesterday’s proceedings, the prosecution counsel and Kano solicitor-general, Mr Salisu Muhammad-Tahir, informed the court that the first and second defendants were absent despite efforts to secure their attendance. He apologised to the court and requested an adjournment to enable their appearance, while urging the remand of Christopher in a correctional centre.
However, the defence counsel, Mr Gideon Uzo, prayed the court to allow his client’s remand in the custody of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) instead.
The trial judge, Justice Amina Adamu-Aliyu, ordered Christopher’s remand in a correctional facility and directed NAPTIP to present the other defendants at the next sitting.
The matter was adjourned to October 27 for further mention and commencement of trial.
The case stems from a petition filed in December 2022 by the Protection Against Abduction and Trafficking of Our Children (PATAMOC) to NAPTIP, following the alleged disappearance of over 600 children from Kano since 2010, of which eight were rescued.
