Police Arrest Enugu Doctor for Alleged Child Trafficking, Forgery

Enugu police have arrested Dr. Emmanuel Ugwumba on charges of child trafficking and forgery in the Udenu Local Government Area. The arrest, confirmed by Enugu State Police spokesperson Daniel Ndukwe, occurred on September 28 following credible intelligence linking Ugwumba to a child trafficking network.

According to Ndukwe, Ugwumba was apprehended after he allegedly published a public notice regarding an abandoned child, falsely endorsed as a directive from the Enugu State Ministry of Gender and Social Development. The notice was published in the Daily Sun newspaper on September 27, 2024.

During the investigation, police rescued a pregnant woman along with two young girls, aged four and two, both victims of the trafficking scheme. Ugwumba, who claims to be a graduate of medicine and surgery from the University of Jos, owns Chima Hospital and Maternity in Ugbaike Enugu-Ezike, located in the Igbo-Eze North Local Government Area.

Further inquiries revealed that from 2017 to 2024, Ugwumba allegedly conspired with an individual posing as a ministry staff member and others who remain at large, to conduct ante-natal care and deliveries for seven children whose mothers have not yet been identified.

Additionally, police discovered a cache of documents purportedly from the Ministry of Gender Affairs and various unverified pest/vector certificates from the Enugu State Ministry of Environment and Mineral Resources.