The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Command, has arrested a man and his accomplice who were planning to sell the man’s eight-year-old son for the sum of N20 million.
According to the FCT Commandant, Olusola Odumosu, the suspects, identified as Chinana Tali and Pius Aondoakaa, were apprehended on January 10, 2024, for conspiring to sell the boy, Ushafa Tali. The arrest followed proactive intelligence work by the NSCDC.
Odumosu explained that the NSCDC, acting on a tip-off, placed the suspects under surveillance. Pius Aondoakaa was seeking a buyer for the boy and had rejected an offer of N12 million, insisting on N20 million for the sale. The suspect claimed that the boy’s father intended to use the proceeds to take care of his other children.
In a sting operation, the NSCDC’s undercover personnel posed as a buyer and lured the father, Chinana Tali, to Abuja on January 10, 2024. The transaction was concluded for the sum of N20 million, after which the NSCDC officers moved in and arrested both suspects. The eight-year-old boy, Ushafa Tali, was safely recovered.
Chinana Tali and Pius Aondoakaa, both from Logo Local Government Area of Benue State, were handed over to the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) for further investigation and prosecution. The boy will be reunited with his mother.
In an interview with journalists, Chinana Tali claimed that economic hardship led him to agree to sell his fourth child for N20 million to enable him to provide for his other children. The NSCDC has successfully thwarted the illicit transaction and prevented the potential trafficking of the child.
