The father of three-year-old Ibrahim Owodunni has made an emotional appeal to the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) to personally intervene in the search for his son, who remains missing six months after he was allegedly abducted from his Lagos home, sold for N1.5 million and trafficked to Anambra State.
The desperate plea comes despite the arrest of three suspects who allegedly confessed to abducting and selling the toddler.
In a video released on Monday, Ibrahim’s father, Ahmed Owodunni, appeared alongside a human rights activist, lamenting that although the suspects are in police custody and the alleged proceeds of N1.5 million from the sale of the child have been recovered, the boy has yet to be found.
The activist disclosed that Owodunni, a bricklayer, has spent virtually all his savings pursuing his son’s rescue, including providing about N600,000 to facilitate a police operation to Ihiala, Anambra State, where investigators believed the child had been taken.
According to him, the operation failed to locate either Ibrahim or the alleged buyer.
He further revealed that the family has continued to receive threats from individuals suspected to be linked to the child trafficking network.
He alleged that on July 2, an unidentified caller contacted Ibrahim’s father, demanding the release of the arrested suspects in exchange for the child’s freedom and threatening that the boy would not be seen again unless the demand was met.
While commending officers of the Lagos State Police Command’s State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Panti, for their efforts, the activist said the investigation now requires intervention from the highest level of the Nigeria Police Force.
He urged the police leadership to strengthen collaboration among security units to ensure the child is rescued and those behind the trafficking syndicate are brought to justice.
The activist also lamented the crushing financial burden placed on the family, revealing that a private tracker demanded N800,000 to assist in locating the childāan amount far beyond the reach of the distraught father.
The renewed appeal follows the emergence of audio recordings in which a man identifying himself as “Ibekwe” allegedly claimed to be holding Ibrahim in Anambra State while mocking ongoing efforts by security agencies to rescue the child.
In the recordings, the caller reportedly taunted the child’s father, insisting that police had failed to locate him despite months of investigation and challenged the family to continue spending money on tracking efforts.
The suspect also allegedly demanded the release of one of the detained suspects, said to be his sister, as a condition for Ibrahim’s release.
Ibrahim was reported missing on January 17, 2026, after disappearing while playing outside his family’s residence on Orji Street, Iba New Site, Iyana Iba, Lagos.
Police investigations, aided by CCTV footage from a neighbouring property, allegedly identified Sadiq Ige as the individual who led the child away shortly before his disappearance.
Investigators later arrested Ige, who allegedly confessed to handing the child over to another suspect, Adetayo Yusuf. A third suspect, Vera Okon, was subsequently arrested and allegedly confessed to selling the child for N1.5 million before transporting him to Ihiala in Anambra State.
Although police later travelled to Anambra with the suspects in a bid to rescue Ibrahim, the operation ended without success.
Six months after the abduction, Ibrahim remains missing, while the three suspects remain in police custody as investigators continue efforts to unravel the alleged child trafficking network.
The family is now urging the Inspector-General of Police to deploy additional resources and coordinate a nationwide operation to secure the child’s safe return and dismantle those responsible for the alleged trafficking ring.