Nursing mother, 3 others paraded over child thefts
A nursing mother and three others were yesterday paraded by the police in Benue State for their alleged involvement in several child thefts in the state. The police said the four kidnap suspects were arrested in Makurdi following tipoff by good spirited individuals after they had allegedly abducted a two-year-old male child near the cattle […]
Nursing mother, 3 others paraded over child thefts
A nursing mother and three others were yesterday paraded by the police in Benue State for their alleged involvement in several child thefts in the state.
The police said the four kidnap suspects were arrested in Makurdi following tipoff by good spirited individuals after they had allegedly abducted a two-year-old male child near the cattle market in North Bank suburb of Makurdi.
Spokesman for Benue police command, DSP Moses Joel Yamu, said the suspects; Joy Onyeabor, 32, Lucy Doosur, 29, Sunday Udoh, 26 and Friday Orinya, 33, conspired to commit the crime on October 10.
Yamu said a full-scale investigation was ordered into the matter by the State Commissioner of Police, Ene Okon, after the report of the missing child was brought to the Division C police station in North Bank by the victim’s mother, Mercy Ajokwe.
The police spokesman explained that the child was on the day of his abduction in company of his seven-year-older brother when the women (Joy and Lucy) lured the older child with N50 to buy bread for them across the road leaving the younger boy in their care. They were said to have whisked the child away before the older sibling returned from the errand only to be tracked in Aba, Abia State.
He added that the women sold the child to one Unwa Chibueze and Elizabeth (whose surname) is unknown at the cost of N500,000 and that further investigation on the matter led to the arrest of other members of the syndicate which included Udoh, a bus conductor, who is father to Joy’s child and their driver, Orinya, all of North Bank, Makurdi who actively participated in the crime.
Yamu explained further that police detectives extended investigation to Aba and recovered the child on October 23 and that the minor has since been reunited with his family while investigation continues to arrest other fleeing members of the syndicate.
Speaking to our correspondent, one of the suspects, Joy, a mother of four other children apart from her toddler, admitted to have committed the crime and received her share of N250,000 from the sale of the child.
Also, Lucy, a mother of three from Konshisha LGA of the state, said she was dragged into the crime by her friend, Joy, stressing that it was her first time and that she benefitted N50,000 out of which she returned N45,000 to the police.
The duo of Orinya and Udoh however denied taking part in the alleged crime.