How Woman Stole Baby in Imo & Sold for N1M in Lagos
A 25-year-old woman, Ogechi Njoku, and two accomplices have been arrested for allegedly stealing a week-old baby from Imo State. They subsequently sold the baby boy to a couple in the Cele, Mile 2 area of the state for N1m.
According to Punch, Njoku was arrested by policemen attached to the Makinde division around 2am on Wednesday, November 4, on her way to deliver the baby to the couple. She later led the State Intelligence Bureau, which handled the matter, to arrest her two accomplices – Patience Nwaogbo and Ngozi Izuora.
Njoku, who is reportedly a sales girl in Omuwa Town, Imo, was sent by her accomplices last Tuesday to Lagos, and had travelled in a car with the baby throughout the night. The commercial driver, however, became suspicious when Njoku could not breastfeed the baby when he cried, but instead gave him baby food.
The driver was said to have alerted the police on patrol when they got to the Oshodi Oke area of the Apapa-Oshodi Expressway, and Njoku was interrogated and arrested.
According to the police, Njoku, Nwaogbo and Izuora have made confessional statements, while their collaborator, said to be Njoku’s aunt, is still on the run.
Njoku, who claimed to be a mother of four, said:
“I have not been to Lagos before. I work as an apprentice in a shop in Onitsha, Anambra State. It was my aunt, Madam Ngozi, who asked me to bring the baby to the couple after they had made payment to her. My aunt collected the baby from a lady in Imo who wanted to dispose of him. I do not know how much she gave the mother of the baby. I started off this journey at about 11am on Tuesday. I took a private car and my aunt paid the fare. She had collected the N1m, but she had yet to give me any share as of when I travelled. While in the car, I could not breastfeed the baby. I was giving him only baby food.
When we got to Lagos, the baby started crying and I gave him more formula. The driver suspected that I was not the baby’s mother and reported me to policemen on patrol. I have four children too in Imo. They are with a guardian. But I am not living with my husband. We had a quarrel. I had not met the buyers before. I was only given their phone number and I was to meet them in the Cele area. The wife of the man is barren, and she wanted to adopt the baby. The police have arrested the couple too, but they were released on bail.”
The Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni, confirmed that the baby is now in police custody under the Family Support Unit, and investigation is ongoing to apprehend other members of the syndicate in Imo State.
God bless that driver.The couple could pay N1million to buy a baby illegally when there are several legal ways to have a baby that won’t even cost that much.Something is fishy
People should patronising these babies sellers. Must you go that far to be called a mother or father? This is really sickening. I think a law should pass to give equal amount of purnishnent to the seller and buyers. That will help reduce/curd this madness.
So the barren couple couldn’t go through the due process of adoption???? Why did they chose to do these illegal stuff when hey can afford the money??
Na wa oh.
God please into ur hands I commit my family ad my sister’s own too.
O ga o! when we this madness of stealing & seller babies stop
Lord have mercy
God pls save us
The evil dat men do dis days surprises even d devil himself. All 4 money, it is well.
very bad
Why cant peoplw learn to do things the right
thief
dt serves dem right babies r nt to b sold
Imagine this rubbish? They got served.
hmmmmmmm. Na wa o.
May God preserve us oo
I repeat again…..if we have a very good adoption system these things wouldn’t keep happening
na wa o for all these babies trade o