Abia Police Arrest Four Over Alleged Theft, Sale of Four-Day-Old Baby
The state police command has arrested four persons for allegedly stealing and selling a four-day-old baby in Abia State.
Police said they had credible intelligence and arrested the suspects on September 16 by officers of the Violent Crimes Response Unit and Rapid Response Unit in Obehie.
The Police Public Relations Officer, Maureen Chinaka, said the suspects were Gladys Nathaniel, 48; Victor Udochukwu, 47; Chijioke Obunwa, 59 and Onyeonoro Chinwe, 43.
The preliminary investigation showed the suspects allegedly collaborated to remove the newborn from the baby’s mother, who police said was suffering from mental health issues, and then sell the child to someone else, police said.
The baby and the mother were then found by the police.
The mother has been returned to her family where she is expected to be cared for and medically attended. The baby has been handed over to the protection of the Abia State Ministry of Women Affairs pending investigations.
The four suspects are still in police custody at the State Criminal Investigation Department and are likely to be charged once the investigation is finished.
Commissioner of Police Wilfred Afolabi said the command was not going to relent in protecting vulnerable persons and in the prosecution of those suspected of offences against them.
The case is coming as part of a broader worry about baby trafficking in the southern part of Nigeria. The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) in August closed a house in Port Harcourt as an illegal maternity centre suspected of being involved in baby trafficking.
The Abia investigation is still continuing and the charges against the suspects have not been substantiated in court.
