Orphanage Caretaker Descent into Kidnapping and Human Trafficking.

It was said that Malam Bala Abubakar, who was detained in Sokoto State on charges of kidnapping and human trafficking, was well-known in his community for being an orphan caretaker and source of support.

The Sokoto State Police Command claims that Abubakar sold 28 children—six of whom were his biological sons—for between N150,000 and N250,000 to Elizabeth Oja and Kulu Dogonyaro, two Abuja residents.

According to reports, Abubakar, a resident of Sokoto LGA's Tudun Wada region, runs an outfit that helps orphans. As a result, many widows turn to him for support for their children who are orphans.

A Tudun Wada resident who wished to remain anonymous told the Daily Trust that they were horrified to learn of his role in kidnapping and child trafficking. 

“I know Bala has an organization that caters for orphans. He used to look for support for them from politicians and other wealthy individuals. And many widows go to him for support for their children, nobody knew he was into this unfortunate business (trafficking) until he was paraded by the police along with other suspects.

Our prayer is that the police would investigate further in order to rescue all the victims,” the resident disclosed.

But Nemesis eventually caught up with Bala and his cronies when, on April 27, 2024, at approximately 2000hrs, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command detained Mrs Dogonyaro and Ojah, who were travelling with five children, including two-week-old twins and under-fives. Other passengers had noticed that the infant was being fed powdered milk instead of breast milk, so they took notice of the unusual feeding practice.

The commercial vehicle's driver immediately drove to the closest police station upon arriving in Abuja to report the suspicious pair.

The suspects stated at the station that the parents of the children in Sokoto voluntarily gave them to them so they could turn them over to a non-governmental organization for care and education in Abuja.

The moms of the five children who were rescued acknowledged, after more police inquiry, that Mrs. Dogonyaro had resided in Sokoto for more than 20 years at one point.

The mothers, who were all widows, were tricked into giving up custody of their kids under the false impression that an NGO with headquarters in Abuja would take care of their needs, welfare, and upbringing. Meanwhile, other victims of child abduction were kidnapped while travelling to an Islamic school, according to the police.

In the course of the investigation, the police said, two additional individuals were detained and fifteen more children were retrieved from other states; all of the parents claimed to have obtained the children through Mrs. Dogonyaro.

Meanwhile, the Sokoto State orphanage facility received twenty of the freed ychildren.  Ten suspects have been taken into custody, and a total of twenty rescued children have been given to the Sokoto State orphanage home for good treatment.

In a news interview, Abubakar refuted the accusation made against him, stating that the children were voluntarily turned over by their mothers in order for them to have a better life rather than being kidnapped or trafficked.

“I am not a trafficker neither a kidnapper. I know Mrs Dogonyaro through a friend who happened to be the personal assistant to the former commissioner of Social Welfare,” he said.

One day, a woman who was mentally unstable abandoned her two children in our area. We took them to our village head who invited the director, Social Welfare, who came along with the woman and collected the children

And that was how I met Isa who kept coming to me and telling me to hand these kinds of children to Kulu Dogonyaro; that she had a place where they were taking good care of children

Since then, I have been taking orphans brought to me by their mothers to her for proper care. But I am not collecting anything from her,” he said.

Though he acknowledged giving the lady custody of his six biological children, Abubakar maintained that he never received payment from her. Mrs. Elizabeth however, said that she was unaware that the kids had been kidnapped.

“I know Kulu Dogonyaro in Sokoto. We lived in the same barracks for over 20 years. I came back to Sokoto, looking for a job and she came to my place and asked me to help her take the five children to Abuja because Bala brought a large number of children to her. And I can’t say no to her because we have been friends for 21 years. She told me that the children were orphans and would be taken to an organization in Abuja for proper upkeep,” she said.