Kidnappers Now Mocking Fathers and Demanding Prisoner Exchanges in Nigeria

I just read something that made my blood run cold. SaharaReporters obtained audio of a suspected child trafficker named Ibekwe calling the father of missing three-year-old Ibrahim Owoduni from Anambra, taunting him about the police, and even offering a prisoner exchange — his sister for the boy. This is beyond criminal. This is organised evil operating with impunity.

Let me break down what happened. On January 17, 2026, little Ibrahim was taken from outside his family home at 13 Orji Street, Iba New Site, Iyana Iba, Lagos. CCTV showed a neighbour, Sadiq Ige, leading the boy away. Ige confessed and named Adetayo Yusuf. Yusuf led police to Vera Okon, who allegedly confessed to selling Ibrahim for N1.5 million and taking him to a village in Ihiala, Anambra. The father, Ahmed Owoduni, spent N500,000 hiring a bus to take police and suspects to Anambra. They came back without the child. And now this Ibekwe calls the father to mock him, asking if he wants to speak with his son, telling him to keep paying for police trackers. He even said, and I quote from the audio: 'Tell the policeman that Ibekwe call you himself from Anambra. You put my sister there with the police and you want to settle with me.'

This is the state of child protection in Nigeria. A three-year-old boy is sold for N1.5 million, trafficked across state lines, and the suspects are bold enough to call the father and mock him while his sister sits in police custody. Meanwhile, the police return from Anambra without the child. Who is protecting this syndicate? How does a trafficker have the father's phone number and the confidence to call him? The question is: what will it take for the authorities to treat child trafficking as the national emergency it is?