Phone call gives 20-year-old baby thief away

Policemen attached to the Anambra State Police Command have arrested a 20-year-old boy, for allegedly stealing a six-month-old baby in the Ose Okwudu Market area of the state metropolis.

A phone call made by the suspect at the motor park, telling the receiver to get his money ready because he had finally gotten a baby, alerted security men. And before he knew it, local vigilantes were on him like fleas on dogs.

The suspect, John Ene, has adamantly refused to disclose his reason for stealing the baby, but detectives alleged it was likely for nefarious purpose.

The Division Police Officer (DPO), in charge of Onitsha Central Police Station, a Chief Superintendent of Police (CPS), Mr. Isah Abubakar, confirmed the arrest.

He said that Ene was arrested at Abuja Park by a vigilante group, which sighted him trying to board a commercial bus with the baby to an unknown destination.

According to Abubakar, “The suspect hails from Uburu in Ohaozara Local Government Area of Ebonyi State. The suspect confirmed that he stole the child from a young girl at the market while the baby’s mother was busy selling some items to her customers.

“The cries of the baby attracted the attention of the security operatives in the park, who were watching the suspect. The suspect was at a corner of the park, making calls. He didn’t know he was being watched. He told the person he called that he was coming with the baby. He told the person to make sure that his money was ready. It was at this stage that the police were alerted. He was arrested and brought to the station. He confessed that he stole the baby from Ose Market in Onitsha.”

Abubakar urged citizens to always be at alert and report to police any suspected element around their surroundings. The police chief blamed the mother of the baby, who left the baby in the care of a little girl in the market.

Ene denied the allegation, saying that he was an interior decorator based in Abuja. He said that he visited a brother in Onitsha but came to market to buy some tubers of yams when he saw the child crying and wanted to cuddle the baby. The DPO added that the suspect would soon be arraigned in court. This was even as he warned criminals in the state to leave or face the wrath of the law.