Juliana
Francis and Godstime Simon
 |
| IGP Adamu |
Operatives
of the Inspector-General of Police Special Intelligence Response Team (IRT)
have smashed a syndicate which specialised in removing babies from their
mothers’ wombs before maturity in order to sell them.
Police are
working on the theory that the syndicate, which is located in Delta State, is
running a baby factory and an illegal orphanage.
Some of
those arrested in connection with the crime are; the General Overseer of
Liberation Ministry, Pastor Sunday Chinedu, Madam Isioma Uko, the Chief
Medical Director and owner of Ndu Hospital and mortuary in Delta State, Mr Adagbo Samuel
aka Baba. Others are Vera Emenike
aka Vivian, Monday Joy, Faith Yusuf Desmond and Friday, a panel beater.
The
syndicate was busted after IRT operatives, led by a Deputy Commissioner of
Police (DCP), Abba Kyari, received information on the illegal activities going
in the hospital and embarked on surveillance that ran into weeks. When the
operatives were sure that their information was correct, they stormed the
hospital.
The police
said that Samuel specialised in carrying out surgeries on young girls once
their pregnancies are six months old. When police stormed his hospital, they
found two dead bodies in his dirty mortuary. One of the corpses is that of a
pregnant young girl. Incidentally, Samuel is not a trained medical doctor, but
has doctors and nurses working for him. They do whatever he orders them to do.
Police said:
“The syndicate is using the hospital to engage in human trafficking and
operation of illegal orphanage, otherwise known as baby factory. Police
received information that Samuel has a criminal syndicate within and outside
Agbor. The Syndicate gets girls, mostly under aged pregnant and then the girls
would then be lured to the hospital, which has been turned into an illegal
orphanage.
“Samuel used
to reach an agreement with the girls. One of the agreements is that he would
take extremely good care of them during the period of their pregnancies. After
they put to bed, he pays them N200, 000 and then take possession of their
babies. Investigation has revealed that Samuel has a home at Ayangba in Kogi
State, where he does transport these children to for sale. When police stormed
the hospital, it discovered that Samuel has two bodies lying in the morgue,
while all efforts made to trace families of the bodies had been abortive.
“The
syndicate harvest babies when their young mothers are just six months gone.
Once the babies are brought out, they are put in incubators and then sold when
they are nine months old. Samuel claimed that the babies were untimely removed
from their mothers’ womb because the young mothers didn’t want people to know
they were pregnant.”
One of the victims, who police said the
syndicate harvested her baby, is Monday Joy.
But Samuel explained that Joy was brought to him by a woman called
Favour. Joy later told him that she was six months pregnant.
Samuel said that Joy gave birth to a
male child, who died after some hours. She would later return to Samuel’s
hospital after she got pregnant the second time.
Samuel said: “The second child, a baby
girl, survived and was sold to a woman. I don’t know the woman’s whereabouts. I
never knew it was a criminal offence to sell children.”
Samuel also recalled that there was a
time Friday the panel beater once brought a politician called honourable
Francis, to him. The Politician came with a pregnant lady, later identified as
Favour.
The girl would later deliver a baby
girl, but the new mother allegedly asked Samuel to sell the baby for her. The
baby was sold for N300, 000.
Samuel
recounted: “Immediately I collected the money from Francis, I gave it to
Favour. She shared it into two. She took N150, 000, while she gave me N100,
000. That same day, honourable Francis
bought another six months old baby. I can take police to Friday, who brought
the politician. It is only through Friday that we can get to honourable
Francis. On that day, Francis, Friday came with one Igbo woman called Vivian
Emenike. She’s also called Susana. No, I’m not a medical doctor, but I am the proprietor
of the clinic and maternity home. When I
could no longer pay doctors and nurse, I suspended them and the patients. No, I
am not a mortician. Mr Akpan is my mortician.”
One of the suspects, Friday, explained how he got involved with the syndicate.
His words: “About 15 years ago, things were very tough for me and my
wife was pregnant. When she went into labour, I took her to the general
hospital Agbor. My wife gave birth to a baby girl. I later told my wife that
the baby died.
“Immediately
we were discharged, I took the baby to Samuel and sold her for N30, 000. I
didn’t know that selling my child was a crime. In 2018, Madam Vivian Emenike
came to my shop to ask how she could get a baby, either boy or girl. I took her
to Samuel, who sold a baby to her. I don’t know how the baby was sold and no
money was given to me.”
Another
suspect, Isioma Uko said: “Police arrested me for selling a child. I went to
Doctor Samuel’s with one of my friends. We went there to adopt a baby. We
bought the baby for N600, 000. I bought two; one was sold for N600, 000
and the other for N730, 000. My friend took one, while a nurse took the second
one. But I was the one who took them there. Out of the N730, 000, I took N20,
000, while out of the N600, 000 I was given N10, 000, making it a total of N30,
000. I went into this business because I wanted to help Vivian, who was
childless and needed a baby.”
Responding,
Vivian said: “A woman, Onyeka Okon, introduced me to Samuel. She called baba on
phone and then he asked her to give the phone to me; he directed me to his
house. When I got there, I asked him if he does abortion, he said yes. He asked
me if I was ready to take a baby, but I told him that whatever we discussed, I
would go and talk to the people who wanted to buy the baby.
“We agreed
on a price and then I went to bring the lady who wanted to buy the baby. I gave
the money to baba and he handed over the baby to me. I gave the baby to the
woman and we left. Some minutes after we left, the woman called, asking if the
transaction was genuine, I replied yes. She said that she didn’t want a
situation whereby there would be trouble in the future.”
The General
Overseer of Liberation Ministry, Sunday Chinedu also has his own story to tell.
He said:
“Police arrested me because I did business with Samuel, who we call Baba. The
business involved buying of babies. I brought a girl from Edo State to Samuel.
The girl is a prostitute, who got pregnant and wanted to get rid of it. The
pregnancy was six months gone when she came to my church to ask if I knew where
abortion could be carried out. I got to know her during my commercial cycling
days.”
The pastor
continued: “While she was talking to me and crying, a woman walked into my
church. She asked why the girl was crying and I explained. She told me she
would give me a man’s number, that the man was a doctor. I collected the man’s
number, called him, and he directed me to his place. When we got there, he gave
her two options; either to abort the foetus or sell the baby after birth. The
lady chose the second option. When the lady gave birth, the doctor called and
showed me N300, 000. He took N50, 000, which he said was his share and then
gave me N30, 000, while the rest of the money was given to the lady.
“Three
months later, the lady brought her friend to Baba for the same
solution. Yes, I’m a pastor of Liberation Ministry and I am the General
Overseer.”
To be
continued on Friday
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