Owner of Asaba Orphanage Home, Mr Ogugua Christopher was yesterday arraigned before a Kano State High Court for allegedly kidnapping two children.
Christopher, who lives in Asaba, Delta State, is standing trial alongside two others: Hauwa Abubakar and Nkechi Odlyne, on four-count charge of kidnapping and wrongful concealment of minors.
The defendant, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The prosecution counsel, Ms Khadija Aliyu-Umar told the court that the defendant committed the offences on June 21, 2016 and May 1, 2016 at Tishama Hotoro Quarters and Kawo Quarters, Kano, respectively.
She alleged that on June 21, 2016 at about 10am at Tishama Hotoro Quarters, the defendant kidnapped Maryam Suleiman, four, and wrongfully kept and concealed her in his orphanage home known as Happy Home.
Aliyu-Umar alleged that on May 1, 2016, at about 10am, the defendant also kidnapped a four-year-old boy, Ibrahim Nura, from Kawo Quarters, Kano, and concealed him in the same orphanage.
The prosecution had earlier filed a 15-count charge, which was later amended and substituted with a four-count charge.
According to the prosecutor, the offences contravene Sections 273 and 277 of the Penal Code of Kano State.
The defence counsel, Mr H M Nwoye applied for bail on behalf of his client and urged the prosecution to provide the necessary case documents.
Justice Amina Adamu-Aliyu ordered that the defendant be remanded in a correctional centre and directed the prosecution to furnish the defence with the relevant documents.
The judge adjourned the case until November 12 for hearing.
A senior intelligence officer with NAPTIP, Suleiman Muhammad informed the court that efforts are ongoing to produce the two other defendants, Abubakar and Odlyne, who were not present in court.
The case followed a petition filed in December 2022 by Protection Against Abduction and Trafficking of Our Children, PATAMOC, to NAPTIP, over the alleged disappearance of more than 600 children from Kano since 2010, out of which eight children were later rescued.
