A woman in Rivers State has raised concerns over the whereabouts of her late brother’s eight-year-old daughter, alleging that the child may have been trafficked alongside her 10-year-old brother through an orphanage in neighbouring Imo State.
The woman, Mrs Sandra Godknows, who resides in Port Harcourt, said she became aware of the situation after receiving a call from relatives in her village informing her that the boy had been taken to the Igwuruta Police Division in Ikwerre Local Government Area.
According to her account, the boy had escaped from the residence of a lawyer in Igwuruta where he had been staying after being taken from an orphanage operator identified as John Uzoegbu in Imo State.
Godknows said she travelled to Igwuruta the following day, where the boy ran to her and narrated how he and his younger sister were taken from their mother to the orphanage.
She claimed that the girl was handed over to another party before the boy was moved to live with the lawyer in Rivers State.
The aunt further alleged that the boy fled the residence after overhearing conversations suggesting he might be relocated to another unknown destination.
“He over heard the lawyer discussing how he will take the boy to another place he(boy) don’t know,” she said while narrating that out of fear the lad jumped the fence and began shouting for help until someone in the neighbourhood assisted him and took him to members of OSPAC.
Members of the local vigilante group reportedly arrested the lawyer and handed him over to the police at the Igwuruta Division.
Godknows said she later joined police officers in travelling to Imo State, where the orphanage owner was also apprehended and brought to Rivers State for questioning.
However, she alleged that the suspects were later released by the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) at the station, a development she said raised serious concerns about the handling of the case.
She also claimed that efforts by the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (SCIID) in Port Harcourt to obtain the case file and the suspects had not yielded results.
According to her, the whereabouts of the eight-year-old girl remain unknown.
“The Orphanage home gave out his sister before him,” she revealed.
Reacting to the allegations, the Rivers State Command spokesperson, Grace Iringe-Koko, said information obtained from the DPO indicated that the matter involved a legal adoption process.
She explained that the case began on February 6, 2026, when the commander of the OSPAC vigilante group in Ikwerre Local Government Area brought the lawyer and the boy to the police station after the child raised an alarm.
According to the police spokesperson, the lawyer and the orphanage operator claimed the boy’s mother had voluntarily given him up for adoption.
Iringe-Koko added that documents said to be from a court were presented to support the adoption claim and that arrangements were made to return the child to the court.
Meanwhile, Prince Wiro, National Coordinator of the Centre for Basic Rights Protection and Accountability Campaign, has called for a more comprehensive investigation into the matter.
Wiro urged the police to transfer the case to the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department for further review, noting that such steps are necessary when a complainant expresses dissatisfaction with how a case is handled at the divisional level.
He also advised investigators to verify the adoption documents and liaise with the Ministry of Social Welfare in Imo State to determine whether due procedures were followed in releasing the children.
According to him, establishing the facts of the case is essential, particularly in view of the unresolved question surrounding the whereabouts of the missing girl.
