A High Court in Kano State has mandated the detention of Ogugua Christopher, proprietor of an orphanage in Asaba, Delta State, following accusations of abducting and trafficking children allegedly transported from Kano to Asaba.
Ogugua faces prosecution alongside Hauwa Abubakar and Nkechi Odlyne on a 15-count indictment involving conspiracy and child abduction, which reportedly violate Sections 97 and 273 of the Kano State Penal Code as well as Section 32(5) of the Children and Young Persons Law.
The prosecution alleges that between June 2016 and December 2021, the accused unlawfully took multiple minors and sold them within Delta State.
During the court session on Tuesday, the prosecutor, Salisu Muhammad-Tahir, informed the bench that Abubakar and Odlyne were absent despite attempts to secure their attendance.
“We have exerted every effort to bring them before the court and sincerely regret their absence,” Muhammad-Tahir stated, requesting an adjournment and that Ogugua remain in custody until the others appear.
On the defense side, counsel Gideon Uzo petitioned the court to permit his client to stay under the supervision of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) rather than being transferred to a correctional institution.
Justice Amina Adamu-Aliyu, presiding over the case, rejected this plea and ordered that Ogugua be held in a correctional facility. She also instructed NAPTIP to ensure the presence of the two missing defendants at the subsequent hearing.
The court adjourned proceedings to October 27 for further continuation of the trial.
