Four-Year-Old Child Abducted from Port Harcourt School Recovered in Abuja

The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command has announced that a 4-year-old child, Hope Evans, who was recently declared missing in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, has been found in Abuja.

In a statement on Sunday, the command’s spokesperson, Josephine Adeh, revealed that Hope was reported missing by his parent, Ms. Lydia Jonah Gabriel, on October 31, 2024.

The statement explained that the alarming incident occurred around 2 pm, when Ms. Lydia raised the alarm after her child, who was expected to return from the community primary school in Azube, Port Harcourt, went missing.

According to the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), a suspect named Blessing Okoi, who is currently in custody, allegedly lured the child away from the school premises by offering him biscuits and eggs.

She said, “The woman, who was not known to the school management, managed to leave with Hope unnoticed until in the evening when the child’s family could not locate him.”

She added, “Upon realizing that her son was missing, Ms Lydia Jonah, alongside family members, visited the school to gather more information”.

The PPRO revealed that it was later discovered that the person who took Hope from the school was known locally as “Destiny’s mum.” However, when police visited the suspect’s residence, they found that she had hurriedly vacated the premises on the same night.

Josephine explained that the child’s family reported the case at the Trans Amadi police station. The matter was subsequently transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) for further investigation.

Upon suspicion that the suspect had fled to Abuja, the victim’s younger sister reported the matter to the FCT police command. Following this, the Police Commissioner in the FCT, CP Olatunji Disu, ordered an immediate investigation.

After a thorough investigation, police operatives traced the movements of the suspect, Blessing Okoi, to Maraba, an Abuja suburb, where she was arrested on November 29.

She said, “At approximately 8pm of that day, the 4-year-old Hope Evans was rescued.

“The suspect earlier claimed to be the child’s mother, even as her claims were inconsistent with information provided by the victim’s mother”.

Josephine added that the command later contacted the child’s mother, who arrived in Abuja on November 6, and the child was successfully reunited with her.