Vero Lucky, a distraught mother in Agbarho community, Ughelli North Local Government Area of Delta State, has issued a heart-wrenching plea to the government and security agencies to intensify efforts to locate her four-year-old son, Moses, and other missing children in the area.
Reports had initially claimed that at least 26 children had been abducted from the community since March 2025.
However, Ughelli North LGA Chairman, Olorogun Jaro Egbo, disclosed after a high-level security meeting that seven cases had so far been confirmed.
The meeting, which included Agbarho women leaders, representatives of various community groups, the Agbarho Royal Palace, Agbarho Descendants Union, and security agencies, including the Ughelli Police Area Commander, aimed to address growing concerns over the disappearances.
In an interview with The Nation in Warri, Vero recounted the traumatic moment her son disappeared in May.
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“Moses was outside playing. I just stepped inside to get something, and by the time I came out, he was gone. We looked everywhere. We’ve not seen him till today. We reported it to the police. They took my number and promised to call if he’s found,” she said.
She revealed she had just started a hospital cleaning job when the incident occurred and has since been unable to return to work. The pain, she said, has been overwhelming, especially as her husband, who is ill, remains in the village receiving treatment.
“We had gone to the village for his treatment. He asked us to return so the children could resume school. Then this happened. Moses is my last child,” she said tearfully.
As part of measures to curb further abductions, Council Chairman Egbo announced an immediate ban on the activities of iron scavengers in the community. He also inaugurated an investigative committee headed by ACP Adebayo, the Ughelli Area Commander, to conduct a thorough probe into the missing children cases.
Addressing the press after the security meeting, Egbo explained that the session was convened to hear directly from the affected communities and ensure coordinated action moving forward.
“As against the report circulating in the media that 26 children are missing in Agbarho Kingdom, for now, we have been able to confirm seven of them, though it’s a sad one to us but we will ensure we do our best to go in search of them, and to put a measure in place to avert future recurrence.
“I have charged the security agencies to conduct a proper investigation to unearth those seven children who are missing. We have taken their photographs, the names of the children and those of their parents.
“We have also promised to support one of the mothers who is still in school to go back and study, and to also give two other affected mothers palliative for them to start up a business of their own for them to take care of themselves and their children, while the government and the security agencies hit the ground running in search of the children,” Egbo added.
The chairman reiterated his commitment to ensuring peace and security across the local government.
He stressed that the government was unaware of the happening since the first case of child abduction took place in December 2024, as reported by one of the affected mothers during the meeting.
Following the report of the alleged suspected scavenger who was caught in the process of kidnapping a child in Agbarho Kingdom, the Chairman banned the activities of scavengers popularly known as “Iron Condemned.”
Egbo stated that until they are properly profiled in Agbarho Kingdom, any scavenger caught in Agbarho conducting their activities will be arrested by security agencies to face the full weight of the law.
He called on parents, caregivers, and the general public to be vigilant at all times and to always report unsuspected faces and cases of criminal activities in their area to the security agencies.
