The police in Enugu State say a medical doctor, Emmanuel Chimaobi Ugwumba, who was arrested for alleged child trafficking and forgery, has been remanded at the Nigerian Correctional Custodial Centre in the state.
A statement on Wednesday night by the command’s spokesperson, DSP Daniel Ndukwe, said Dr Ugwumba was arrested by the command’s operatives serving in the Anti-Kidnapping Tactical Squad, on September 28, 2024.
According to the statement, the arrest of the 52-year-old Ugwumba, who hails from Ezimo-Agu, Udenu Local Government Area, followed the interception of a public notice on an abandoned child he made.
Ndukwe said the medical doctor in the said public notice endorsed in the name of the Enugu State Ministry of Gender and Social Development, which he claimed as the director of OTZ, was published in the Daily Sun Newspaper on September 27, 2024.
The statement noted that upon his arrest, he was found to be involved in child trafficking, with one pregnant woman, the four-year-old publicised child and another two-year-old child, both female being rescued.
Ndukwe explained that an investigation had revealed that the suspect, who claimed to be a graduate of Medicine and Surgery from the University of Jos, owns and manages Chima Hospital and Maternity located at Ugbaike Enugu-Ezike in Igbo-Eze North Local Government Area.
“It was further discovered that between 2017 and 2024, he conspired with an acclaimed staff member of the ministry and others at large to conduct anti-natal care and delivery of seven yet-to-be-traced children from different mothers in the hospital.
“The suspect was also found to be in unauthorised possession of different documents from the Ministry of Gender Affairs and unverified pest/vector certificates from the Enugu State Ministry of Environment and Mineral Resources.
“He was today, October 9, 2024, arraigned in court and remanded in the Nigerian Correctional Custodial Centre, pending further hearing,” the statement noted.