NSCDC arrests Benue man planning to sell son for N20m in Abuja
NSCDC arrests Benue man planning to sell son for N20m in Abuja
By Matthew Eloyi
The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Federal Capital Territory Command, has successfully thwarted a disturbing plot as they apprehended a man in the act of planning to sell his eight-year-old son for N20 million.
In a press conference held on Tuesday, FCT Commandant Olusola Odumosu revealed that the father, Chinana Tali, was arrested alongside his accomplice, Pius Aondoakaa, on January 10, 2024. The duo was conspiring to trade the young boy, Ushafa Tali.
Detailing the arrest, Odumosu stated, “The FCT Commands’ ardent and astute intelligence personnel, in their proactive engagements in January 2024, intercepted a father who conspired with another to trade an eight-year-old boy, claiming to be his child, for the sum of 20 million naira in the FCT.”
Acting on a tip-off, the suspects were closely monitored, with Aondoakaa seeking a higher bid and rejecting an offer of 12 million naira. Odumosu added, “He also offered a ‘she-goat’ (i.e., girl child) for 15 million Naira. Pius claimed to have a boy child for sale, and the father intended to use the proceeds for his other children.”
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Providing further details, the commandant explained, “In view of this, the acclaimed father of the boy, Mr. China Telpesa Solomon Tali, was lured to Abuja on January 10, 2024, by the FCT Intelligence Personnel who posed as a buyer. The transaction was concluded for the sum of twenty million naira after which officers moved in and arrested the father, Mr. Chinana Tali, male, 42 years old of Logo LGA, of Benue State, and recovered the little eight-year-old boy by the name Ushafa Tali.”
Both suspects, identified as Tiv by tribe and hailing from the village of R.C.M Abeda Mbadyul in Logo LGA of Benue State, were handed over to the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons for further investigation and prosecution. The young boy, Ushafa Tali, will be reunited with his mother.
In a shocking admission during a brief interaction with journalists, the father, Chinana Tali, claimed that economic hardship drove him to make the distressing decision of selling his fourth child for N20 million to ensure the education of his remaining five children.
“The hardship condition pushed me into agreeing to sell my son for 20 million naira to train the remaining five of my children,” he explained remorsefully.
