Abuja hotel manager nabbed in child exploitation scandal
The Gender Unit of the Nigeria Police Criminal Investigation Department in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) conducted a raid on Ignobis Hotels, located on Gado Nasco Road in Kubwa, near Abuja, following allegations of child abuse and endangerment.
Inspector Ossai Ojobo, an Investigation Police Officer, led the raid, accompanied by officials from the Social Development Secretarial (SDS) of the FCT Administration and representatives of a non-governmental organization.
During the operation, the Hotel Manager, Mr. Akbueze Chidi, and a restaurateur named Priscilla Abuyah were apprehended and taken to the Force CID for questioning.
The raid was initiated in response to a petition by the Human Rights Agenda Network (HRAN), an NGO, to the Social Welfare Department of the SDS. The petition alleged that the hotel was harboring minors and exposing them to sexual exploitation.
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Mrs. Joy Omokivie, the SDS Officer in charge of the case, informed the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the SDS forwarded the petition to the Gender Unit of the Force CID to investigate the matter.
Omokivie added that local residents had classified the hotel as a brothel where young girls, including underage girls, were allegedly being brought for illicit activities.
According to the HRAN petition, a 12-year-old minor and her younger brother, aged 4, were discovered living in the hotel with a woman believed to be their mother.
After conducting preliminary investigations, the 12-year-old girl was rescued and is currently in the custody of the Social Welfare Department, while the young boy remains with his mother.
The raid is part of an ongoing investigation to determine the veracity of the allegations, saying if found to be true, the minors will be rescued and culprits prosecuted.
HRAN had in the petition accused the woman, Mrs Immanuela Austyn-Araki, a Bolt driver of abandoning the children in the hotel in the morning, leaving them to fend for themselves.
The NGO claimed that the children eat mostly snacks and noodles until she returns late at night or the following morning.
HRAN added that its investigation revealed that the woman lodged in the hotel with the children for more than two years, exposing them to all kinds of sexual conducts by other adults lodging in the hotel.
The group said the girl was allowed access to the internet and accessing sites not suitable for underaged children, adding that the girl had an account on Tik-Tok where she uploads adult related contents.
According to the group, men, including the hotel owner, pay regular visits to the room occupied by the minors and their mother, whenever the mother is not around.
HRAN also expressed suspicion that the woman may be involved in child trafficking, alleging that there were under aged girls in the hotel premises working as commercial sex workers.
The NGO, thereafter, asked the police to investigate the matter with a view to save the child.
However, after reading the petition at the Force CID, the manager of the hotel and the restaurant operator declined making any response except in the presence of their lawyer.
Meanwhile, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Hotel, Mr Eze Obasi, refuted the allegation, saying “I am a good Christian and a traditional title holder in my community.
“As such, I cannot be a party to sexual exploitation, abuse, or endangerment of underage girls in my hotel.
“All I know is that the woman in question was being maltreated by her husband and she came to the hotel with her children to seek refuge from her abusive husband.
“This complaint has been brought before me by four different groups and it has been settled.
“I do not understand why police officers will still come to the hotel to embarrass my clients in the name of police search for minors,” he said.
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