A Kano State High Court has ordered the remand of Mr. Ogugua Christopher, owner of the Asaba Orphanage Home in Delta State, in a correctional facility pending trial on charges of conspiracy, kidnapping, and child trafficking.
The ruling, handed down on Tuesday by Justice Amina Adamu-Aliyu, stems from allegations that Christopher and accomplices abducted and trafficked over 600 children from Kano State to southern Nigeria since 2010, with eight victims recently rescued by authorities.
Christopher, who surrendered to the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) in Abuja earlier this month for interrogation, faces a 15-count charge alongside co-defendants Hauwa Abubakar and Nkechi Odlyne.
The charges, filed under Sections 97 and 273 of the Kano State Penal Code and Section 32(5) of the Children and Young Persons Law of Kano State, allege the trio conspired between June 21, 2016, and December 20, 2021, to kidnap vulnerable minors from Kano and sell them in Delta State for as much as ₦450,000 each.
During the arraignment at the Kano State High Court, prosecution counsel and Kano State Solicitor-General, Mr. Salisu Muhammad-Tahir, informed the court that Abubakar and Odlyne failed to appear despite repeated summonses.
He apologized for their absence and requested an adjournment to secure their attendance, while urging the immediate remand of Christopher to a correctional center.
Defense counsel, Mr. Gideon Uzo, countered by pleading for his client to remain in NAPTIP custody instead, citing concerns over safety in the prison facility.
Justice Adamu-Aliyu rejected the plea, ordering Christopher's remand and directing NAPTIP to produce the fugitive defendants at the next hearing on October 27, when the trial is slated to commence.
The case traces back to a December 2022 petition by the Protection Against Abduction and Trafficking of Our Children (PATAMOC), a Kano-based advocacy group, which alerted NAPTIP to the disappearance of more than 600 children from the state over the past decade.
Investigations uncovered a trafficking syndicate linking northern states like Kano and Gombe to southern orphanages.
In June 2025, NAPTIP operatives, acting on intelligence, raided the Happy Home Orphanage in Asaba, operated by Christopher and rescued eight children, including one identified by her biological mother as Aisha Buhari, a long-missing minor from Kano.
The raid, which also uncovered 70 children at the facility including 15 newborns, sparked controversy when orphanage representatives accused NAPTIP of "abducting" minors.
NAPTIP Director-General Binta Adamu Bello refuted the claims in a September 2025 briefing, describing the operation as a lawful rescue under the Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Enforcement and Administration Act, 2015, with DNA testing ongoing to confirm parentage before reunifications.
Christopher's surrender on October 9, 2025, followed months of evasion and came after he ignored multiple NAPTIP summonses.
Authorities allege Abubakar, arrested in Gombe with stolen children, sold 21 minors to Odlyne, who then resold seven to Christopher.
The rescued children are currently in protective custody, with four already reunited with families from Kano and Gombe.
PATAMOC has hailed the court's action as a "major victory" in the fight against child trafficking, urging deeper probes into orphanage networks across Nigeria.
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