Operatives of the Special Anti-Robbery
Squad attached to the Abia State Police Command have uncovered a
suspected baby factory at Ogbor Hill, in the Aba area of the state.
During the operation, the detectives rescued five pregnant women and arrested a 54-year-old man, identified as Nkem Nwokocha.
Nwokocha, who hails from Obegu village
in the Ugwunagbo Local Government Area of the state, allegedly ran the
factory with his wife, identified only as Nurse
The rescued pregnant women are Chidinma
Chukwu (29), of Isiala Mbano community, Imo State; Kelechi Sampson (20);
Happiness Godwin, of Mboko Umuanunu village, Obingwa, Abia State;
Okoronkwo Mercy, of Alayi, in the Bende LGA, Abia State; and Oluebube
Onyabu, of Umuanunu village, in the Obingwa LGA, Abia State.
While parading the suspect at the police
headquarters in Umuahia, the state capital, the Commissioner of Police
in the state, Mr. Adeleye Oyebade, said the police acted on a tip-off.
He explained that upon receipt of the
information, operatives moved into the area and discovered the hideout,
where the pregnant women were camped.
The police boss lamented the rate at
which people indulged in illegal sale of babies in the state, adding
that it was an act of wickedness against innocent children.
He said, “Any crime that involves the
sale of children is against humanity and God. Sometimes, it’s even hard
to imagine that a child will be stolen and sometimes, their parents are
involved. But we are not going to accept it. We are asking members of
the public to give us useful information that will assist us in this
direction.”
The suspect, Nwokocha, said his wife was a midwife who had been running the maternity home for over six years.
He said although the home was not
legally registered with the government, it was working in liaison with a
yet-to-be-identified social welfare home.
He said, “I’m aware of what my wife is
doing. Most times when I returned from my place of work, I saw these
girls and when I asked them what they were doing in my house, my wife
told me that their parents registered them with her for treatment.
“When the girls put to bed, my wife
takes the babies to the welfare home we are working with. I don’t make
any money from this because I have my own business and I am
comfortable.”
Two of the pregnant girls, Mercy and
Kelechi, said they knew Nwokocha’s wife through a woman who referred
them to her for treatment of stomach ulcer.
Others, however, claimed that they were only on a visit.
All the victims said they were not
legally married, adding that they went to the maternity home without the
consent of either their parents or those responsible for the
pregnancies.
They denied any intention to sale their babies, but could not state any plan for their upkeep after birth.
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