Community Youths Rescue Kidnapped Toddler, Nab Two Teenage Suspects in Cross River

A two-year-old boy abducted from Bunyia Iruan community in Boki Local Government Area of Cross River State has been rescued, after alert youths in Ogberia Ochoro community, Mbube area of Ogoja Local Government Area, intercepted two suspected kidnappers trying to move him through the area.

An eyewitness, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said members of the community vigilante group acted swiftly once they noticed something was wrong.

"When we noticed that they were trying to take the boy across our community, we had to stop them. We stopped the two of them and arrested them by our community vigilante group," the eyewitness said.

The suspects, identified as Suahnen Lorlumun, 17, and Sekeghshie Silas, 17, were taken to the village square, where they were tied to a concrete wall fence and beaten by angry residents before police arrived, according to the eyewitness.

The boy had reportedly been kidnapped two days earlier from Bunyia Iruan community.

To prevent a possible lynching, the Clan Head of Bunyia Irruan moved the two teenagers to the Okubuchi Police Outpost for their safety, the Cross River State Police Command said in a statement issued by its Public Relations Officer, ASP Sunday Eitokpah, on Thursday in Calabar.

"The Cross River State Police Command is aware of an incident involving two young men, namely Suahnen Lorlumun, 17, and Sekeghshie Silas, 17, who were brought to the Okubuchi Police Outpost by the Clan Head of Bunyia Irruan, for their safety following concerns that they could be lynched by youths in the area," the statement read.

Eitokpah said the two teenagers were later released into the custody of the Clan Head, with officials from the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) also involved in the handover.

"The Command further confirms that the two young men were subsequently released into the custody of the Clan Head, in the company of three officials of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons from Calabar," the statement said.