Lagos State Police Command have rescued 19 pregnant young women and four children during raids on four baby factories in the state.
During the raids, two suspects, Happiness Ukwuoma and Sherifat Ipeya, were arrested; while the principal suspect, one Madam Oluchi, absconded after she got the reports of the raid.
The state Police Public Relations Officer, Bala Elkana, said in a statement on Sunday that a manhunt had been launched for Oluchi, adding that the suspects were operating as nurses at the baby factories despite not having formal medical training.
He stated that Oluchi and her accomplices usually tricked their victims from different states of the federation with promises of employment opportunities in Lagos, but abduct them for the purpose of getting them pregnant and selling their babies.
Elkana said, “On Thursday, September 19, 2019, around 4pm, acting on the strength of information from a reliable source, detectives from the Isheri Osun Police Station, led by the Divisional Police Officer, CSP Chike Ibe, stormed a building at No. 14, Adisa Street, Ayanwale area, Ikotun, Lagos, suspected to be used for child trafficking.
“Nineteen pregnant women from the ages of 15 to 28 were rescued and four kids were also rescued.
“They were all rescued from four different locations – No. 32, Owosho Street, Governor Road, Ikotun; No. 29, Olugbeyohun Street, Olakunle bus stop, Abaranje; No. 4/6, Anomo Street, Abaranje; and No. 14, Adisa Street, Ayanwale area, Ikotun.
“The pregnant women were brought in from Rivers, Cross River, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Abia and Imo states.
“Two suspects, Happiness Ukwuoma, 40; and Sherifat Ipeya, 54, were arrested in connection with the case.
The suspects are natives of Imo and Lagos states and did not receive formal medical training, but operated as nurses.
“The Command has launched a manhunt for the principal suspect, Madam Oluchi, from Mbano, Imo State. She is a mother of five.
“The young women were tricked with employment as domestic workers in Lagos and abducted by the suspects for the purpose of getting them pregnant and selling their babies for between N300,000 and N500,000, depending on the sex.”
Elkana stated that the state Commissioner of Police, Zubairu Muazu, had visited the scene and ordered the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department to take over the case, adding that the Command had been working with other agencies and stakeholders to rehabilitate and resettle the pregnant women and the babies.
