Nigerian Baby Factory Saga

Baby merchants in Abia State will stop at nothing in getting their articles of trade for ready buyers who are scanning the state for babies to buy. In the past two months, several arrests have been made, victims rescued and suspects charged to court for their involvement in the crime.

Police crackdown does not seem enough deterrent. Instead, they are devising new and masterful methods. Even, not an imbecile or mentally challenged women are spared, as long as she can get pregnant and bear a child. In the latter case, the offspring is a ready market for these merchants. The business is all about a baby, no matter the complexion – in fact, different complexions have their varying prices, and the demands are always there.

The most recent is the case of a 17-year-old female imbecile, Adaku Okpechi. The teenager had gone to market on April 4, 2013, with her one and half year-old baby girl, named Favour. She went back home without the child. When her parents’ efforts to trace the child proved abortive, they reported the matter to the police.

The Abia State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Usman Tilli, who stated this yesterday while parading some alleged baby factory owners, vowed to end crime and criminality in the state. He warned them to look for their business elsewhere and no longer in Abia.

The commissioner, who stated this at the Bende road police headquarters in Umuahia, said that his men swung into action and arrested five suspects, Ugochukwu Nwosu, 21, male; Emmanuel Anyanwu, 21, male; Nwamaka Okorie, 42, female on wheelchair (crippled); her relation, Florence Ukandu, 31, one-legged on crutches, and Rhoda Nwokocha, 21, female. The suspects, according to the police, confessed to have conspired to sell the baby girl for N350,000 on May 2, 2013.

But Nwamaka, who spoke to Saturday Sun later, said she went for genuine adoption and did not know that the child was stolen. She also said it was, in fact, she that reported the matter to the police when she sensed that there was something funny in the transaction. “I reported to the police but I was subsequently detained with my sister and we were brought here. I am Innocent of all the allegations, “ she said.

Baby Favour was seen with one Adaeze Nkemdirim, a 27-year-old housewife and native of Umuomia in Ntigha, Isiala Ngwa South LGA, who is residing with her husband at Adaelu Osisioma Ngwa area of Aba. Incidentally, Adaeze Nkemdirim was the same person that was arrested at Osisioma in connection with another child trafficking offence of selling two new born babies of her two maid servants, Gift Ohuonu, 18 years and Eberechi Achi, 18 years for N400,000 each. It was also in her custody that a pregnant SS3 female student of a secondary school from Imo State, Onyedikachi Okere, was waiting for delivery before she was rescued. Onyedikachi had said that she approached Adaeze to help her in her pregnant state and she promised to do so.

Speaking to newsmen while she was being paraded, Adaeze Nkemdirim denied being a child trafficker, claiming that she sells clothes. But both Gift and Eberechi told journalists that she was the one that collected their children from them and that they still did not know where the children are.

The Police Commissioner also told newsmen that in the course of recovering baby Favour from Adaeze Nkemdirim, his men raided another baby factory called   Daughters of Zion Rehabilitation and/ Motherless Babies and Care Centre at Amaoji Ukwu Obingwa, owned by one Ngozi Ukaonu. There, nine pregnant teenage girls were rescued. Ngozi Ukaonu, who protested her arrest before the newsmen, said she was running a legal motherless babies’ home registered by the state. She could not give response to whether part of her business consisted in keeping teenage pregnant girls.

The names of the girls are Blessing Amadi, Amarachi Onwukwe, Amarachi Udoka, Chidinma Onukafor, Favour Dike, Precious Emmanuel, Eziuche Michael, Chinasa Chukwuka, Chidera Ogbonna and Chinyere Agbakuru.

The police boss said that three babies put out for sale were recovered from the home and the prime suspect, Ebere Nkemdirim escaped.

Baby factory business seems to be wearing an aggressive posture in Abia (God’s Own State) following police and Civil Defence Corps’ recent discoveries. As it is, pregnant girls have become endangered species in Aba as anyone that sees them quickly covets them and fleeces them of their babies to make money.

In the past three months, discoveries made in this sector have amazed Abians in particular and Nigerians in general.

How They Got Me Pregnant at Imo State Baby Factory - Victim Narrates

The Imo State police command, earlier in the week, rescued 17 pregnant teenagers from a baby making factory. (Read HERE ). Below is an update on the story.

Nine girls, forced into pregnancy at a ‘baby factory’ in Imo State ,yesterday spoke of how they became victims. The nine were arrested by the police yesterday after initially escaping during a raid of the ‘baby factory’.

Their arrest brings to 26 the number of victims rescued from Ahamefula Motherless Babies Home, Umuaka in Njaba Ciouncil Area of the state. They are aged between 14 and 25.

The visibly exhausted girls said that they were held against their wish by the proprietor of the so-called motherless babies home simply known as Madam One Thousand. The victims are all from Imo .

They said their parents were unaware of their whereabouts.

According to them, they were taken to the ‘baby factory’ by scouts engaged by Madam One Thousand.

The scouts include women who go about seeking vulnerable girls.

17-year old Adaobi Akubueze ,until her abduction a student in Lagos, said she referred to the centre by a medical doctor who conducted a pregnancy test on her.

She said:“The result of the test was positive and the doctor said I should not abort the pregnancy. He said he knew where I could go and have the child with adequate maternal care and where the baby would be taken care of until I would be ready to take charge.

“So I ran away from home without informing my parents. But on getting to the centre in Imo State, I was asked to produce my letter of introduction. After that, my phone was taken away from me and that was how I stayed there till the Police came and arrested us.”

She said of conditions in the centre: “We were kept in a crowded room with little ventilation and a doctor came once in a while to check us. Nobody was allowed to go beyond the first gate also known as the Green Gate. And one boy who we referred to as oga came around to sleep with the girls, especially those that were not yet pregnant.

“The compound was built in such a way that made escape impossible. It is fenced with high walls and no visitor was allowed to come into the area where the girls were kept, except Madam, Oyibo and the doctor.

“After nine months, those who were due to be delivered were taken to another location and Madam would only bring back news to us that our friend had given birth. But they never came back ”.

Another victim, Chinyere Onwuegbu, also 17, said she was living with her mother, a widow, until she ran away with one of her friends who convinced her that she could make a huge amount of money if she could be pregnant and sell the child after delivery.

Her words: “My friend brought me here and she told me to stay and get pregnant. Madam promised to take good care of me and that she would give me N60,000 if I had a baby boy and N30,000 if it was a girl.

“ But after I was impregnated, Madam began to force me to work hard despite my condition. I cried everyday but no way to escape”.

From outside, the ‘baby factory’ looks very much like a pure water production facility.

It sits on an expansive land and is walled round.

The main building has several rooms secured with iron doors.

A neighbour, who volunteered information on condition of anonymity, said: “All we saw were people coming to buy water but we began to express worry when we noticed flashy cars coming to the place at nights.”

Investigation also revealed that the owner of the ‘baby factory’ also runs a maternity home where the victims are taken to be delivered of their babies.

Oyibo, who was identified by the girls as the one who impregnated most of them, denied that he was paid to impregnate them.

He said: “I was employed to work in the pure water company, but I have slept with most of the girls but not to impregnate them as reported.”

Who is Madam One Thousand?

It was gathered that Madam One Thousand is no stranger to the police having been arrested by them at least twice before for a similar offence.

A source, who asked not to be named, said: “If the police are serious, they can arrest her; they know her identity. She has been in this trade for a long time. She even has medical doctors who work for her.

“Apart from that, since she also runs a registered maternity home, why can’t the police look in that direction and get her identity from the Ministry of Health that registered her clinic?”

Sources said she is at the head of a syndicate that also includes doctors.

The doctors refer victims to her and get paid accordingly.

Efforts to get the Commissioner of Police, Mohammed Katsina, and the Police Public Relations Officer, Joy Elemoko, to comment on what becomes of the girls were unsuccessful as they did not pick calls to their handsets.

However, a reliable police source said the girls would be handed over to the Ministry of Women Affairs after proper documentation for adequate medical attention as some of them are ill
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