A woman, Jennifer Onyebuchi, has been trailed and arrested in Okija, Anambra State, by police officials in Lagos State for allegedly stealing a nine-month-old baby in the Ajegunle area of the state.
The police operatives rounded up the woman on Wednesday, September 30, 2015 and rescued the baby.
Punch reports that Onyebuchi, who also hails from Anambra, had befriended the baby’s mother, Aina Adetola, for about two weeks before she reportedly stole the baby.
According to a resident who identified himself only as Uche, Onyebuchi allegedly lied that she was going to buy an item for the baby and then disappeared with him.
Uche said, “It was on Saturday, September 26. We were all shocked that Jennifer (Onyebuchi) escaped with the nine-month-old baby. She had met the victim’s mother for just two weeks before she carried out the act.
“They were both shop owners in the area. On that day, Jennifer took the baby from his mother when he was crying and said she was going to buy him a bottle of soft drink from a nearby shop.
“When the mother waited for them to return, but did not see them, she raised the alarm. The matter was thereafter reported at the Ajegunle Police Division. Nobody suspected that Jennifer had a devilish motive. It turned out that the woman took the baby to a bus station and travelled on the same day to Okija, Anambra State.”
Narrating her harrowing ordeal, the baby’s mother revealed that her husband sent her packing from their house after the incident.
She said, “I could not eat for four days. I thought I was going to run mad. I wanted to kill myself, but people continued to calm me down. My husband was so angry that he sent me out of his apartment, and I had to be sleeping in my friend’s house. He said if I did not bring the baby back, I should not return to his apartment. I wept throughout that period.
“I first met Jennifer (Onyebuchi) at a filling station around Boundary bus stop in Ajegunle. She would always assist me when I wanted to buy petrol. She had a shop in the area too. On that Saturday, she had come to my shop when my baby was crying. She carried him and said she was going to buy a drink for him.
“That was my mistake. After hours of waiting for them, I rushed to Akinbo Street at the house where I knew Jennifer stayed, only to be told that she had travelled. I was shocked. That was when I went to the police to make a report.”
A police source in Ajegunle said: “The police located the spare parts dealer, who suggested that the woman might have travelled to her hometown in Okija, Anambra State. So, the dealer and the police went to Anambra, and they were on her trail for two days.
“On Wednesday, she was arrested. She and the baby were brought back to Lagos on the eve of Nigeria’s Independence Day.
“Some of the residents of the area wanted the police to release the suspect to them, so they would mob her, but that did not happen.”
Meanwhile, the Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Joe Offor, is yet to confirm the incident.
