Amaraku Market in the Isiala Mbano council area of Imo state is currently experiencing a state of tension following the abduction of a seven-month-old baby by a suspected child trafficking syndicate last Friday.
According to reports, the incident sparked chaos in the area as residents actively participated in the search for the missing child.
An individual who witnessed the incident, a trader who wishes to remain anonymous, recounted the events. The suspected child trafficker specifically targeted the crying baby who was being carried on the back of its mother while she was selling items at her shop.
The suspect approached the woman and offered to help carry the crying baby, even taking a wrapper from the child’s mother. Taking advantage of the mother’s engagement in selling her merchandise, the suspected child trafficker vanished with the baby.
According to the eyewitness, “I was buying some foodstuff at Amaraku Market when a woman started shouting, ‘My baby, my baby, where is my baby?’
“She had given her seven-month-old baby out to a stranger, while she was selling okro and other vegetables because the baby was crying and disturbing.
“The stranger carried the baby on her back but later disappeared into the crowd. When the woman realised the woman was no longer in sight, she started shouting and crying.
“Other traders around helped to search for the woman but could not find her. The woman may have been charmed by the stranger because no one in her right senses will release her baby in such an environment with over ten thousand buyers and sellers.
“What is she going to tell her husband?”
As of the time this story was being filed, there had been no response from the State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) regarding the inquiry.
