The Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Police Command has said a 4-year-old child, Hope Evans, recently declared missing in Port Harcourt, River State capital, has been found in Abuja.

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

The statement explained that the shocking incident occurred at about 2 pm when Ms Lydia raised the alarm over the whereabouts of her child, who was expected to return from the community primary school in Azube, Port Harcourt.

According to the Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, a suspect, 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 said it was then discovered that the person who took Hope from the school was known locally as Destiny’s mum.

However, upon visiting the residence of the suspect (Destiny’s mum), the family gathered that she had hurriedly vacated the premises on the same night.

According to Josephine, the family of the child reported the case at the Trans Amadi police station.

The matter, she said, was subsequently transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) for more timely investigation.

Josephine explained that following suspicion that the suspect had escaped to Abuja, the victim’s younger sister reported the matter at the FCT police command.

She said the Police Commissioner in the FCT, CP Olatunji Disu, ordered an immediate investigation.

She said after a detailed investigation, police operatives tracked the movements of the suspect, Blessing Okoi, to Maraba, an Abuja suburb, from where she was arrested on November 29.

She said, “At approximately 8 pm 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 reunited with her.

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