The Military High Command, and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Police Command have maintained studied silence over the abduction of Naval Officer Lt. Cynthia Akor and two others, who were whisked away by unidentified gunmen on Friday night in the Mpape area of the FCT.
Lt. Cynthia Akor, a Naval Officer deployed to Defence Headquarters, was reportedly abducted from her residence alongside two others on Friday night.
The victims were abducted from their residence in the Mpape area of the Federal Capital Territory on Friday night.
Sources in the said area disclosed that the abductors have contacted the families of the hostages and are demanding a ransom of N100 million for their release.
Meanwhile, efforts to confirm the ugly development from the military proved abortive, as messages sent to the mobile numbers of Director Defence Media Operation, Major General Markus Kangye, Acting Director Defence Information, Brigadier General Tukur Gusau, and Spokesperson of the Nigerian Navy, Commodore Aiwuyor Adams-Aliu, remained unanswered at the time of filing this report.
Additionally, the Spokesperson of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command, Josephine Adeh, a Superintendent of Police who had promised to reach out and revert to reporters, also went silent thereafter.
In a separate development, the FCT Police Command rescued 23 children from a suspected child trafficking syndicate operating under the guise of an orphanage in Kubwa, Abuja.
A statement by the Command’s Spokesperson, SP Josephine Adeh, disclosed that “on 20 March 2025, at about 12:05 PM, following credible intelligence on suspicious activities at Mother Deborah Orphanage, police operatives from Kubwa Division swiftly stormed the location.
“The operation led to the rescue of a three-year-old child suspected to have been stolen from Kaduna State. Two suspects, including the orphanage owner, Ijeoma Andy, were arrested while efforts are ongoing to track down other accomplices”.
Adeh said that further investigations uncovered a shocking discovery of 22 additional children, aged between two and 14 years, comprising 14 females and eight males, believed to be victims of child trafficking.
She said that when interrogated, Ijeoma Andy failed to provide a reasonable account of the children’s origins or how they ended up in her facility.
“The 22 rescued children have since been taken into protective care, where they are receiving the necessary attention,” the statement revealed.
The FCT Police Command assures residents that the Command will stop at nothing to dismantle criminal networks preying on innocent children and persons.
