Two women have made startling admissions in a child trafficking case in Nigeria. One woman, Rose David, 47, said she was recruited at a Dunamis church in Lube to pick up street children for an alleged orphanage, while another, identified as Joy, admitted receiving ₦370,000 from a woman she called Madame Nkechi.
Rose David's Recruitment at Church
In a video shared by TV Platinum, Rose David recounted how she met Madame Nkechi at a Dunamis church in Lube. David said Nkechi gave her a phone number and asked if she would work with her by bringing children found wandering the streets to the purported orphanage.
“She asked me if I could work with her. If I see any child roaming around the street, I should pick her. She said she has an orphanage and that I should bring the child, and she would compensate me,” David said.
One Child Recovered, David's Legal Status
David claimed she had taken only one child under the arrangement and that the child had since been recovered. She said Nkechi presented the arrangement as an effort to help vulnerable children, claiming government approval and facilities where children could receive an education.
“She said it was only children roaming around the streets who had nobody to help them. She said she had a school and could train them,” David added. She said she had considered the arrangement trustworthy enough that she might have taken her own child there if the child had been younger.
David said she had met Nkechi the previous year and had been remanded in prison in connection with the matter. She explained she was later allowed to go home after attending court proceedings several times, saying the complainant had failed to appear. The video did not establish whether she was convicted or the circumstances of her release.
Joy Admits Receiving ₦370,000
In a separate interview shared by TV Platinum 1, another woman, Joy, admitted receiving ₦370,000 from Madame Nkechi but denied bringing the child at the centre of the case. Joy, who said she was from ‘Congo State’, insisted she was not the person who took the child.
“I’m not the one. I didn’t know when she told you,” she said, adding that she did not know where the child had been taken from before being brought to Onitsha. Joy said she had previously accompanied another woman to meet Nkechi and acknowledged receiving the money during that encounter.
“The first time I followed them to Nkechi’s place, Nkechi gave me ₦370,000,” Joy said. Asked what the money was for if she had not brought a child, Joy maintained that another woman was responsible for taking the child. The interview did not establish why Joy received the money or whether the payment was connected to the alleged trafficking.
Questions Remain Over Alleged Orphanage
The two interviews raise questions about the activities attributed to Madame Nkechi, including the claim that she presented the collection of children from the streets as a way to provide them with care and education. David's account suggests she believed the arrangement was legitimate because of assurances about government approval.
However, the interviews alone do not establish whether the alleged orphanage was registered or authorised to receive children, how many children may have been involved, or the full circumstances of the case. The identities and roles of the people mentioned, the status of any criminal proceedings, and the authorities' findings were not independently confirmed from the videos.
