An Ebute Meta Chief Magistrates' Court sitting in the commercial city of Lagos, on Tuesday, arraigned a 35-year-old woman for allegedly stealing a two-month-old baby.
Photo used for illustrative purposes only
A kidnap-suspect, Yetunde Awosanya, 35, was on Tuesday arraigned at an Ebute Meta Chief Magistrates’ Court in Lagos for allegedly stealing a two-month-old baby.
The accused was brought before Magistrate A.T. Elias on a charge of stealing a child which she pleaded not guilty to.
The prosecutor, Sgt. Kehinde Omisakin, said that the accused committed the offence on February 2, at about 4 p.m., at Rentothen House, Topa in Badagry Area of Lagos.
She told the court that the accused stole two months’ old Qudus Adebowale but she could not give a satisfactory explanation on how she got hold of him.
The prosecutor said that the offence committed by the accused contravened Section 275 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.
The magistrate had adjourned the case till February 27 for ruling.
Cases of child theft had been on the increase in recent years. In 2015, one Chinasa Ajunwo, 22, was paraded at the Rivers State Police Headquarters, Moscow Road, Port Harcourt for conniving with her husband to steal five-year-old Michael Michael .
Evelyn, Michael’s mother, said that her son had lived with his suspected kidnapper for three months, stressing that he was declared missing on April 17, 2015.
Also, a 20-month-old Opeyemi Ogundele was reportedly stolen during a naming ceremony in Abeokuta.
The incident happened at Mile 2, Iyana Concord, Akorede Estate, Ilugun Inukosegba Community in Abeokuta North Local Government Area of the state. Elizabeth Ogundele, 26, mother of the toddler, said she was getting ready for her niece’s naming ceremony when she discovered her son was missing.
The then state Commissioner of Police, Abdulmajid Ali, confirmed the incident and said that investigations were ongoing.
The case of the family of Mr and Mrs Leke Orekoya whose three children aged six years four years and 11 months were stolen in April 2015 would remain a constant reminder of this criminal activity for residents of Lagos State.
In April 2015, the Imo State Police Command burst a child-stealing syndicate, believed to be responsible for the reported thefts and child-trafficking cases in the state.
-NAN