Ondo Girl Sold for ₦3.7m Rescued in Delta

A four-year-old girl, Jesinta Sunday, who was allegedly sold for ₦3.7 million by a child trafficking syndicate, has been rescued by the Ondo State Police Command in Delta State.

The child was declared missing on February 3, 2025, when her father, Sunday Kingsley, reported at the Alagbaka Police Division in Akure that Jesinta had disappeared while in the care of her mother, Sunday Happiness.

The case was immediately taken to the Family Magistrate Court in Akure, where Happiness and two other suspects, including Nneka Onah, were arraigned.

Although they were remanded, they were later granted bail.

For months, the whereabouts of the girl remained unknown until July 9, when her father sighted her in Asaba, Delta State.

Acting on his report, detectives from the Ondo Police Gender Desk swung into action, tracing and recovering Jesinta in the capital city.

The Police also arrested a 30-year-old woman, Amaka Chukwuemeka, who confessed to buying the girl for ₦3.7 million.

She went on to reveal that she was introduced to the transaction by 38-year-old Chinaza Owoh.

Further investigation led to the arrest of 58-year-old Mabel Esimai, accused of supplying forged adoption papers to back up the illegal sale.

Esimai claimed that the child had been given to her by 37-year-old Chioma Okechukwu, suggesting a wider criminal chain operating lla cross Ondo, Delta, and Anambra States.

Confirming the development, the Ondo State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Olushola Ayanlade, described the operation as a major breakthrough in the fight against child trafficking.

He noted that investigations are still ongoing to track and prosecute all those involved in the crime.

The Commissioner of Police, Lawal Adebowale, also commended the Gender Desk Unit for its swift response, assuring the public that the command would continue to crack down on trafficking rings in the State.

This disturbing case comes months after the Ondo Police exposed another trafficking operation involving children allegedly sold to orphanages in Anambra State.

Security experts say the rescue highlights weaknesses in adoption verification processes and exposes the reach of cross-state trafficking networks.

Although Jesinta has now been reunited with her father, the case has raised urgent calls for tighter regulations, stronger inter-state collaboration, and improved public awareness to protect vulnerable children.

For now, the Police maintain that more arrests will follow as the net closes on the syndicate.