The Delta State Police Command has arrested a 28-year-old school bus driver, Onome Ughagha, over the alleged kidnapping and sexual assault of a 14-year-old female student in Sapele.

The suspect allegedly demanded and collected N503,000 from the victim’s father as ransom before abandoning the girl along Oton Road in Sapele.

The police spokesman, SP Bright Edafe, disclosed this in a statement on Sunday, saying the victim’s father reported the incident to the Sapele Area Command on October 20, 2026, alleging that the suspect abducted his daughter while she was preparing to leave for school.

According to Edafe, the suspect subsequently contacted the girl’s father, demanded N503,000 and threatened to kill the minor if the money was not paid.

He said the girl was abandoned along Oton Road after the payment and later reunited with her family in a traumatised condition, with indications that she had been sexually assaulted.

Following the report, operatives of the Sapele Area Command launched an investigation, while the victim was taken to a medical facility for examination and treatment.

Edafe said the police also invited the school’s principal and vice principal for questioning as efforts continued to track down the suspect, who had allegedly abandoned the school bus and fled.

He added that acting on credible intelligence, operatives traced Ughagha to his hideout in the Ajimele area of Sapele, where he was arrested on October 23.

The suspect reportedly confessed to involvement in the crime during preliminary interrogation.

The police spokesman said arrangements were being made to transfer the suspect to the State Criminal Investigation Department in Asaba for further investigation.

The Delta State Commissioner of Police, Samuel Erale, condemned the incident and reaffirmed the command’s commitment to protecting children from violence and exploitation.