The
Imo State Police Command yesterday rescued 16 pregnant girls aged
between 14 to 19 years from an illegal orphanage that operated in the
guise of an NGO.
The 'orphanage' was operated by a fake medical doctor, James Ezuma.
Ezuma
is currently standing trial for alleged gun running. The NGO named the
Ezuma Women and Children Rights Protection Initiative (EWCRPI) was a
platform that shields Ezuma's criminal activities from security
operatives.
Briefing newsmen, the State Commissioner of Police,
Muhammad Musa Katsina, disclosed that the NGO was a baby factory where
girls were "encouraged to get pregnant and paid N100,000 on delivery" to
give away their babies, who then have been used for purposes "ranging
from child trafficking to rituals", Katsina said.
He added that
the Command is trying to unravel the whereabouts of a baby that was
snatched away from its teenage mother, Nnachi Chinaza, by the suspect
who refused to disclose to the Police who the baby was
sold to.
"So
far he has taken us to Abia state where he said the baby is but we were
unable to recover the baby, though investigations are still ongoing,
the presumption at the moment is that the baby may have been used for
ritual purposes", Katsina said.
He warned parents to watch their teenage girls to protect them from child traffickers and baby factory operators.
Katsina
further said that Ezuma was arraigned before an Owerri Chief Magistrate
Court in November 2013 for the offence of conspiracy and unlawful
possession of firearms.
However, when the police conducted a
search on the premises of the purported NGO, "sixteen pregnant girls
between the ages of fourteen and nineteen were found; also recovered was
an automatic eight loader pump action gun which is a prohibited
firearm".
The 19-year-old mother of the missing child from Ebonyi
State told journalists she was directed to come to the home by a lady
who promised she will be taken care of.
She said that her baby was
taken away without her consent. "When I started disturbing him to give
me my baby, he gave me one hundred thousand Naira instead".
The
names of the rescued expectant mothers were given as Peace Effiong (24,
Rivers state), Rita Nnanna (25, Anambra), Blessing Ubbah (20, Lagos),
Joy Brown (19, Imo), Precious Anyadike (18, Lagos), Kelechi Wenwu (17,
Imo), Chidinma Okoro (19, Enugu), Iheekanma Onwubiko (21, Imo), Chinyere
Ibenime (20, Imo), Nkiru Alozie (16, Abia), Nnachi Chinaza (19,
Ebonyi), Victoria Peter Udoh (16, Akwa Ibom), Ngozi Ike (20, Rivers),
Chika Eze (18, Abia), Jecila Nwonke (19, Abia) and Chinaza Samsom (14,
Abia).
Also recovered in the vast remises were ten exotic cars
such as a green Jaguar Car with registration number PD787 IKJ, a red
Lincon Navigator with registration number, DN 494 ABC, ash Jaguar Car
with registration number BT 929 GWA, white Chrysler with reg. no RBC 335
AS, Red Chrysler with reg. no BH 168 GWA, white Chrysler with reg. no
JZ 608 ABC, black Lincon Car with reg. no EU 917 LND, ash Honda Jeep
with reg. no EZ 388 ABJ and two other unregistered cars, ash Nissan
Quest and Nissan Partfinder Jeep.
To recall, on November 25, Imo
State Government promised to revoke certificates of all foster homes in
its attempt to solve the probles of baby factories in the
state. 'Production' of babies has become a 'blooming' business in
Nigeria. There are, however, no statistics on the number of babies sold,
nor the young men and women entangled.