Fresh details have emerged in the abduction of three-year-old Ibrahim Owoduni after audio recordings obtained by SaharaReporters captured a man believed to be one of the child’s traffickers taunting the boy’s father, claiming to be in custody of the toddler and mocking ongoing police efforts to rescue the boy.
The suspect, who identified himself as “Ibekwe” and claimed to be speaking from Anambra State, also admitted during the telephone conversation that Ibrahim was in Anambra while urging the distraught father to continue to spend money on police efforts to track him.
The chilling conversation, contained in a series of audio recordings exclusively obtained by SaharaReporters, comes months after the boy was abducted from outside his family home in Iba New Site, Iyana Iba, Lagos State, and allegedly sold for N1.5 million before being trafficked to Anambra State.
During the conversation, the suspected trafficker repeatedly mocked the child’s father, Ahmed Owoduni, while boasting that security agencies had been unable to locate him despite ongoing investigations.
“I dey hear all the things wey dey happen. We never see the pikin. Do you know who dey follow you talk? Na person wey dey carry the pikin come. The person wey carry the pikin come give for Anambra, na him dey follow you talk (I have heard everything that has happened. We have not seen the child. Do you know who you are speaking with? I am the person who brought the child. The person who brought the child to Anambra is the one speaking to you),” the suspect said,” the suspect said.
Attempting to torment the father further, the caller asked whether he wanted to speak with his son.
“You wan follow your pikin talk abi? Bring that boy make him say, ‘Daddy, hello Daddy (Do you want to speak with your child? Bring the boy so he can say, ‘Daddy, hello, Daddy),'” he said sarcastically.
The suspect also challenged the father to rely on the police to find him.
“Send the boy picture for my WhatsApp. If you want see the pikin, go meet the police wey dey find me. Make you dey pay money for the tracker, dey pay am dey go. You dey hear me? (Send the boy’s picture to my WhatsApp. If you want to see the child, go to the police who are looking for me. Keep paying for the tracker. Do you hear me?)” he said.
In another part of the conversation, the suspect referred to the arrest of his sister, who is believed to be one of the suspects currently in police custody.
“Tell the policeman that Ibekwe call you himself from Anambra. You put my sister there with the police and you want to settle with me. (Tell the police officer that Ibekwe personally called you from Anambra. You have taken my sister to the police, and now you want to settle the matter with me).”
He, however, attempted to distance his sister from the alleged trafficking operation.
“It is not her fault. Na the man talk say they have a package (It is not her fault. The man said they had a package),” he claimed.
The caller further proposed what appeared to be a prisoner exchange, demanding the release of his sister in return for Ibrahim’s freedom.
The audio has reportedly heightened concerns over what investigators believe is an organised child trafficking syndicate operating between Lagos and Anambra states.
SaharaReporters previously reported that Ibrahim disappeared on January 17, 2026, while playing in front of his family’s residence at 13 Orji Street, Iba New Site, Iyana Iba, Lagos.
According to his father, the family immediately reported the incident at the Adolf Police Station and launched a search across the neighbourhood and on social media.
A breakthrough came after CCTV footage obtained from a neighbour allegedly showed a resident of the same street, Sadiq Ige, leading the three-year-old away shortly before he disappeared.
Following his arrest, Ige allegedly confessed to handing the child over to another suspect, Adetayo Yusuf.
Further police investigations led to the arrest of one Vera Okon, who allegedly confessed to selling Ibrahim for N1.5 million and taking him to a village in Ihiala, Anambra State.
The boy’s father, Owoduni, earlier told SaharaReporters that he spent N500,000 to hire a bus to transport police officers and the suspects from Lagos to Anambra in an effort to recover his son.
However, despite the operation, the police team returned to Lagos without Ibrahim after allegedly failing to locate either the child or the suspected buyer.
Owoduni also alleged that the driver who conveyed the police team described the community where the child was taken as a “no-go area” notorious for child trafficking.
