Detectives
at the State Criminal Investigation Department, Panti, Yaba, Lagos,
western Nigeria have intensified efforts to recover all the stolen
babies allegedly bought by an Onitsha-based human trafficker who was
arrested in Lagos last Monday for purchasing a stolen two-year old baby.
This
followed the confessional statement made by the trafficker, Mrs. Grace
Onye, 52. Onye told the police that she specialises in the illegal
business of buying babies in Lagos for sale to those who required them.
In
her confession, she admitted that it was not her first time of coming
to Lagos to buy babies, adding that she had been coming to Lagos to buy
babies in the past three years. She told the police that she sold all
the babies to those in need, especially barren women.
She was arrested along with her customer, 45-year old Mrs. Ngozi Ikeh who is barren and needed a child.
They
were arrested at Ikotun in the morning while going back to Ontisha with
a stolen baby sold to them for N300,000 by their contact man who is now
at large.
The
suspects confessed that they had a contact man simply identified as
Samuel who usually lodged them at Francis Inn Hotel located at Abiola
Adeyemi Street, Igando Road, Ikotun whenever they are in Lagos to buy
babies. Grace confessed further that it was in that hotel that Samuel
brought the baby and collected N300,000.
Joy Olowolade, the two-year old stolen baby was allegedly kidnapped at 6, Oladunjoye Street, off Igando Road, Ikotun Lagos.
Samuel
abducted the baby at the stated address in a dramatic form around 4
p.m. on Monday when he threw a banger in the compound where Joy was
playing with other kids.
The
sound of the banger caused confusion in the compound and the children
ran away in different directions. When the dust settled, Joy was nowhere
to be found.
Her
elder sister, Eniola Olowolade, after a frantic search for her, alerted
her parents, Ayodele and Funke Olowolade, of her disappearance.
Funke
explained that one of her neighbours confirmed that she saw the man who
snatched the baby during the confusion that greeted the explosion of
the banger.
Olowolade
and neighbours later arranged themselves in groups to look for the
missing baby. They searched for Joy in every house and street in the
neighbourhoods but could not find her.
Narrating
her experience, Funke stated: “It all happened like a dream, Joy told
me she was hungry and I was preparing her food when she went out to
play with her friends in the compound. Within the twinkling of an eye
Eniola rushed in to tell us that somebody threw a banger in the compound
and everybody ran away. She said she didn’t see Joy when the commotion
died down.
“We searched all the nooks and crannies till midnight. She was nowhere to be found,” Funke said.
At
about 4 a.m. the following day, the Olowolades and their neighours
moved round the streets again looking for Joy. They saw a woman walking
briskly and carrying a baby on her back with her friend. Somebody
shouted the name of the missing baby and Joy answered ‘ma.’
Immediately
the baby answered, the trafficker and her friend ran. They tried to
drop the baby but they were caught by the rescuers. They were beaten and
later handed over to the police at Ikotun division who transferred them
to the SCID for further investigation.
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