Barricade tape for crime scene (Courtesy)

A mother in Liriya Payam of Juba County had to pay abductors 25 thousand South Sudan pounds on Saturday to save her two years old baby from being taken from her, local authorities said.

Christopher Sebit, Liriya Payam Director said the woman identified as Emelda Sebit Lino was on her way from Liriya to Langabu – when she met three men who wanted to abduct the boy.

“An abduction incident happened in between Liriya and Langabu. A certain woman travelling from Liriya to Langabu to buy items from the market so when she was on her way back three men appeared on the road and made an attempt to abduct the child,” said the local official.

Mr. Sebit further said the middle-aged mother, in a desperate move to save her baby boy from being snatched, offered the only amount in her possession, which the gunmen reluctantly accepted.

“So, the woman had to surrender to them 25 thousand pounds and two of them disagreed and wanted to take the money and the child but one of them said no we will only take the money, so they left the woman and the child.”

The incident occured a few days after local officials alleged that armed abductors numbering about five had been seen roaming around Liriya Payam in Juba County, leading to panic among the population.

Prior to the alarm, on October 3, three children were abducted and a mother of one of the trafficked children was wounded when she tried to resist the incident, according to local officials.

Meanwhile, on October 6, Central Equatoria governor dispatched a committee to the Pibor Administrative Area to dialogue with local authorities about rampant child abduction in the state.

Emmanuel Adil Anthony formed the five-member delegation headed by Adil’s advisor on Peace and Security, Hon. Angelo Daya, during a cabinet meeting.

It has a “clear mandate to dialogue with authorities of Greater Pibor Administrative Area and find some amicable remedies towards the recurring child abduction cases in the restive Counties of Terekeka and Juba,” according to a statement from the Governor’s press office.

Mr. Sebit further said the identity and locality of the attackers was not immediately established.

“We tried to inquire from the woman the identity of the men. The woman said it is difficult to trace she was saying that could be the child abductors, but the identity is not known,” he told Eye Radio.

In 2017, the local government administrator revealed in research that at least 115 children had been abducted from the Lirya, Lokiliri, and Lowoi areas of Juba between 1989 and 2017.

The research also showed that at least thirty-six people were killed by abductors as they attempted to kidnap children.

Sebit’s study focused on the Impact of Child Abduction on Behavioral Attitude, Resilience, Security, and Economy in the Lulubo and Lokoya areas of former Jubek State.