Ike Nnachi, Abakaliki
Three children belonging to two different mothers have been stolen in Abakaliki, the capital of Ebonyi State, by three yet-to-be-identified middle-aged women.
The incident occurred in a compound opposite the Nkwagu Military Cantonment, Nkwagu Village, in Abakaliki Local Government Area.
Confirming the incident on Sunday, the Police Public Relations Officer, Joshua Ukandu, said the children were taken from their residence in Nkwagu Village by women who visited the compound on February 6, 2026.
Ukandu said the matter had been reported to the Central Police Station, Abakaliki, by the parents of the victims, adding that investigations were ongoing to unravel the circumstances surrounding the incident.
He also disclosed that the Commissioner of Police, CP Adaku Uche-Anya, had recently directed members of the Landlords’ Association in Abakaliki to always verify the identities of prospective tenants and ensure they present guarantors before being given accommodation.
It was gathered that the incident, which occurred around 7:30 a.m. on February 7, 2026, threw the area into panic as residents gathered in clusters to discuss the development.
Some sympathisers described the incident as unfortunate and heartbreaking, noting that cases of child theft were becoming increasingly frequent in Ebonyi State. They urged the state government and relevant authorities to intensify public sensitisation, particularly for parents and mothers, on the dangers of allowing children to mingle freely with strangers.
Narrating their ordeal, the mothers of the abducted children, Mrs Happiness Ofunna Gladys and Mrs Nworie Oluchi, said the suspects arrived at their compound the previous night and spent the night in one of the empty rooms after discussions with the landlord.
One of the mothers said she had gone to the market early that morning to buy goods for her business when she received a distress call that two of her children had been taken.
“I immediately rushed back to the compound and met people discussing what had happened,” she said.
“From what neighbours told me, the women who stole my children—a boy and a girl—were the same women who spent the night in our compound. My children are between one and two years old. I am still shocked that people could come into an environment just to steal children. I appeal to the security agencies to ensure the suspects are apprehended to serve as a deterrent.”
Mrs Oluchi, in her own account, said the women had arrived at the compound in the evening of February 6 and were seen discussing with the landlord.
“When I returned from the market that evening, I saw them sitting outside with our landlord,” she said.
“The next morning, while I was washing clothes, I looked for my son to give him his drugs. When I couldn’t find him, his siblings told me that one of the women asked him to go and buy biscuits for the other children.
“I rushed out to ask after my son, and one of the women said he had been sent to buy biscuits and volunteered to bring him back. As I went inside to change my clothes, the children in the compound raised an alarm that the women had boarded a tricycle and zoomed off with the three children.”
She added that despite raising an alarm, the suspects could not be traced before they escaped with her two-year-old son.
Efforts to get the landlord’s reaction were unsuccessful as he is currently being detained at the Central Police Station, Abakaliki, in connection with the incident.
