Police arrest woman, 24, over alleged theft of six-month-old baby

The Police Command in Oyo State says it has arrested a 24-year-old woman over alleged stealing of a six-month-old baby.

The Commissioner of Police in the state, Nwachukwu Enwonwu, disclosed this to newsmen on Thursday, while parading the suspect.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the suspect was paraded along with 22 others, in connection with various offences, ranging from kidnapping, armed robbery and fraud.

Enwonwu said that the incident happened on September 16, at about 9 pm. at Eleiyele area of Ibadan.

He said that the suspect went to meet her friend, a hairdresser, at her shop and met her playing with a six-month old baby boy of her neighbour.

The CP said that the suspect collected the baby boy, under the pretext of playing with him, and took him to an unknown destination without the consent of the hairdresser and the baby’s mother.

“The police, upon receiving the complaint, swung into action and apprehended the suspect on September 24, at Ilara-Mokin in Ondo State, while the baby was rescued unhurt,” Enwonwu said.

Speaking with NAN, the suspect, who said that she had divorced three husbands for being poor, claimed to have taken the baby in order to raise him up as her own child.

“I came from Akure to greet my friend, who is a hairdresser in Ibadan, and I saw the mother of the baby in my friend’s shop.

“I played with the baby for a while and returned him back to her mother for her to breastfeed him when he was crying.

“I later took him from the mother after the breastfeeding, backed her and went inside the room. I, thereafter, took the baby to Ilara-Mokin in Ondo State.

“My intention was to raise him as my own child because I was pregnant when I divorced my third husband in April and I didn’t want people to know that I was no more pregnant,” the suspect said.

She further stated that it was her father who made her to divorce her three husbands one after the other because they were not rich and not compatible with her.

The police also paraded the criminal gang terrorising the people of Kishi and Igbeti areas, near Oyo Forest Reserve in Oyo State and recovered five AK 49 rifles, 83 lives ammunitions, eight magazines, phones and N77,800 cash.