The Delta State Police Command is investigating the alleged disappearance and sale of a newborn baby after the child’s mother was reportedly told that the girl had died shortly after birth three years ago.
Key Highlights
- Delta Police are investigating the alleged disappearance and sale of a newborn girl reportedly declared dead after birth in 2023.
- The baby’s mother allegedly discovered that her daughter was alive three years after she was told the child had died.
- A lawyer, his wife and a woman identified as Mary, also known as Bridget, were reportedly arrested in connection with the case.
- Police reportedly rescued the child, who is now in custody.
- The suspects were transferred to the Effurun Area Command for further investigation.
A lawyer, Solomon Igbiaye; his wife, Abigail; and a woman identified as Mary, also known as Bridget, were reportedly arrested and taken to the Ekpan Police Station in Warri on Wednesday following a complaint from the mother.
The woman reportedly raised the alarm after allegedly receiving information that her daughter, whom she believed had died in 2023, was alive.
A source familiar with the case said the mother became pregnant in 2023 after a man allegedly denied responsibility for the pregnancy and abandoned her in Jos, Plateau State.
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The source said the woman was taken to Vicar Clinic shortly before delivery, where she underwent a Caesarean section and delivered a baby girl.
According to the source, a nurse showed her the baby after delivery, but Bridget later told her that the child had died. The mother reportedly demanded to see where the baby had been buried but was allegedly refused.
Four days after the delivery, she was reportedly taken to a dilapidated building in the Shaguolo area of Ekpan and abandoned.
The source alleged that she later suffered complications from her Caesarean wounds and survived by begging for food before eventually returning to Jos.
Her suspicion reportedly resurfaced after a domestic worker identified as Kindness, allegedly contacted her and claimed that the baby had been taken to the lawyer’s residence.
Kindness allegedly sent her a photograph of the child, telling her that the girl looked like her. The source further alleged that Igbiaye’s wife paid Bridget N166,000 in connection with the arrangement, while the mother allegedly received no money.
The circumstances surrounding the child’s birth, the reported death and her subsequent whereabouts are now being investigated by the police.
The suspects were reportedly transferred to the Effurun Area Command for further investigation. The source said the child has also been rescued and is in police custody.
“The police rescued the baby after the couple were arrested, so the baby is with the police,” the source said.
However, the Delta State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Bright Edafe, had not responded to messages seeking confirmation of the arrests and alleged rescue of the child as of the time of filing this report.
