Lagos police trace stolen 2-yr-old girl to Enugu, arrest 3 women

A two-year-old girl stolen in Lagos has been found in the home of a deceased lady in Enugu State. The police said that the girl was stolen in front of her parents’ house along Tesi Oluwale Street, Olodi Apapa, on May 1, 2018. The deceased, Ifeoma Okoye, according to the police, allegedly bought the stolen […]

A two-year-old girl stolen in Lagos has been found in the home of a deceased lady in Enugu State.

The police said that the girl was stolen in front of her parents’ house along Tesi Oluwale Street, Olodi Apapa, on May 1, 2018.

The deceased, Ifeoma Okoye, according to the police, allegedly bought the stolen child from a three-man gang of a child trafficking syndicate for N500,000.

The girl, whose name the police wouldn’t give, had since been given to her parents in Lagos.

Detectives from the Lagos State police command have arrested three ladies allegedly for their alleged involvement in the child theft.

The suspects – Joy Okoye, 28; Uju Obieze, 40, and Ifeyinwa Ezene, 46, – were arrested based on a complaint made by Nwoagbo Ekene about the disappearance of his two-year-old daughter.

The police consequently began investigation into the case and, in the course of it, one Ms. Joy Okoye, 28, of number 64 Kirikiri Street, Olodi Apapa, was arrested in connection with the matter.

It was learnt that during interrogation, Okoye revealed that she and a lady, Amarachi, said to be still at large, stole the child and sold her for N300,000 to Obieze of No. 8, Okwe Road, Asaba, Delta State.

Okoye said, “We stole the baby from the front of their house. As soon as we took her away, we headed to Asaba, where we sold her to Uju (Obieze). She paid us N300,000. My share of the money is N100,000. It is Amarachi who brought the buyers.”

She said that she went into the act because she needed money to sustain herself.

“Life was becoming too difficult. I have tried my hands on a lot of petty businesses without any success,” she said.

Obieze confessed to have bought the child from Okoye, adding that the deal was done jointly with Ezene of No. 2, Eze Bishop Street, Onitsha, Anambra State.

“Ifeyinwa and I jointly planned the whole thing. We only cashed in on Joy’s greed to bring her in. Joy knew the girl’s parents and she was the one who told us how to go about it,” Obieze said.

The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Chike Oti, who confirmed the arrests, said Ezene was apprehended in Onitsha, Anambra State.

Oti said that the suspect had confessed to the crime by corroborating the statements of the other two suspects.

“She is the one who told the police team that the child had been resold to one Ifeoma Okoye, who lives in Enugu,” he said.