Baby Thieves Exposed

The Imo police command yesterday paraded two middle-aged women and a man over alleged involvement in child trafficking.

Parading the suspects, Patience (55), a native of Oredoa, in Edo State, Felicia from Egoredo, also in Edo State and Jacob (41) from Ado-Ekiti in Ekiti State, at the command's headquarters in Owerri, capital of Imo State, the Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Joy Elemoko, said the suspects were intercepted on the Owerri/Port Harcourt road when they could not convince the police that the two new born babies were theirs.

According to the PPRO, the two women live at 14 Densan, Ikorodu, Lagos State but had left their base on March 27, 2013 for Port Harcourt with a motive of stealing the two babies, while the driver, who operates from Lagos to Port Harcourt, lives at Ajunwa Street Ifekoja, Lagos State . "The suspects left Lagos for Port Harcourt on 27th March 2013 and abducted the babies only 72 hours after delivery but were caught while trying to escape to Lagos at House of Assembly Junction, Owerri."

The command's spokesperson pointed out that the offence of child trafficking is conspiratorial in nature and as a result anybody found colluding with the child traffickers would be treated as an accomplice. However, when interviewed, one of the suspects said that a woman she identified as Mrs. Okoro had brought her some herbs from Port Harcourt last June to enable her conceive. According to her, the said woman told her not to go to any hospital for ante-natal care except in Port Harcourt, where she would be delivered of her baby and had promised that she will deliver on March 10, 2013.

She said that she gave birth to the babies on March 28, a few weeks after she was booked for delivery, adding that the same woman came while she was in labour and gave her herbs which appeared to be drugs that forced her to dose off and after she woke up, she saw in-between her legs blood and the babies. The suspect said that she had been married for many years without any child, adding that she had spent N1.8m from the time she was pregnant till when the babies came.

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