As the federal government intensified the fight against human trafficking, the Katsina State police command said they have arrested 3 women suspected child traffickers allegedly involved in trafficking a 3-day old baby from a hospital.
The Command Spokesman Superintendent of Police, Gambo Isah while parading the suspects at the command headquarters said, they were arrested on their way from the hospital to their houses with the child through the help of a tricycle rider who suspected them of stealing the baby.
According to Isah, the three suspects are 35-year-old Misira Tijjani ,43-year-old Grace Ejiogu who are both nurses while, 45 year old Eucharia Onyema is the alleged buyer of the baby.
Grace Ejiogu told ait.live that they (suspects) only tried to rescue the baby from dying after her mother, 25 year old Shamsiyya Sani abandoned the baby at the private hospital claiming she delivered the baby out of wedlock in a note.
According to Ejiogu, she took advantage of the situation and called her sister who has been barren for over 20 years to come to adopt the baby so as to give her a home.
She, however, admitted making a mistake not following the right channel which has landed her and others in police net.
“The baby was delivered in our clinic which was later abandoned and a colleague called over it. That is where I now came in and saw that it was a very sympathetic case. “
“Now someone delivered the baby and abandoned it. Let me inform her if she will come up and need the baby so I can give it to her so that, the baby will live and make the baby have a home.”
“There is nothing like money exchanging hands as I am not the one that delivered the baby, I did not collect one naira from the woman. It is my human sympathy nature that has landed me here and I regret the action and it is destiny for it to happen to me. I have never done this before, I only took pity on the baby”.Ejiogu said
Alleged buyer of the baby, Eucharia Onyema who said she has been married for 23 years without a child while telling her own story said was informed about the abandoned baby on the 25th of July.
“One day I was in my house on 25th of July in the afternoon when my sister Grace called me that there is a baby born in their hospital that the owner don’t want, whether I need it and answered that yes I need it but, I will have to come and see myself”.
“I got to the hospital and we later took a tricycle to come to my house which unfortunately, the tricycle rider took us to the Sabon Gari police station”
Onyema, further stated there was no discussion about buying the baby hence money did not exchange hands, claiming that she only had pity on the abandoned baby.
“We never discussed business about buying the baby and I never gave her any money also,” Onyema said.
“I regret it because I never thought that it will turn out this way, I only pitied the baby because the owner said she doesn’t want the baby again. It is God that gives children and for someone to give birth and abandon the baby, and since I need the baby and can take care of her that was why I decided to take her but, I never knew it will end this way, I regret it and am very sorry”. Onyema echoed.
Police spokesman SP Isah, said the baby has since been handed over to the social welfare centre for care. Meanwhile investigation is ongoing into the matter as.
