Police in the Northern East Region has arrested a 26-year-old Solomon Awunibiliga man for kidnapping a five-year-old girl at Walewale.
He is said to have abducted the girl from Walewale and absconded.
The suspect is reported to have kidnapped the young child to Mirigu, a farming community in the Kasena-Nakana Municipality in the Upper East Region where he was apprehended after police received intelligence.
The victim is said to have gone missing two weeks ago after she went to school but never returned home.
Her disappearance caused fear and panic at Walewale, as relatives and friends explored every nook and cranny of the municipality but efforts proved futile.
fg, said the suspect was picked up at his hideout at Mirigu.
He has since been detained in custody at Walewale to assist with investigations.
Preliminary investigation revealed that the mother of the suspect was said to have asked him to get her a grandchild before she died, otherwise he should never step foot at her funeral ground.
To satisfy the demands of his mother, the suspect reportedly visited Walewale and lured the child who had closed from school and was returning home.
“Our investigations so far revealed that he (the suspect) met the child returning from school and he lured her that he was taking her to her mother but boarded a vehicle and took her to his village called Mirigu in the Kasena-Nankana Municipality in the Upper East Region,” he said.
According to him, the police are still investigating the matter and that the suspect had been charged with child stealing and would be processed for court.
ASP Anmain indicated that the child had since reunited with her family after a medical check-up at the Walewale Municipal Hospital.
He further expressed concern over the increasing spate of kidnapping cases in the region.
He advised parents to be wary of unknown individuals parading in their communities.
There have been growing incidents of kidnap-for-ransom in the region, which have become a major security threat in the area.
Last year, about ten cases of kidnapping were recorded in the region, with most of the cases happening at Mamprugu/Moaduri.
CCF’s crime prevention advocacy
Aside from paying for the fines of petty offenders, Crime Check Foundation (CCF) has introduced programmes including the latest ‘Stay Away From Trouble’ as part of its crime prevention advocacy project.
Through these programmes CCF cautions the general public against acts that could land them in trouble in a bid to curb crime.
The Foundation screens one-on-one interviews with prison inmates bringing to bear acts that landed them in prison and the difficulties they face in custody.
It has also paid the fines of many petty offenders for their release.
