‘I Come To Lagos To Buy Babies’

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.
•Grace Onye (r) and her friend who needed a child
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.

Sent From David Aniemeka