Parents tell girl, 15, to steal babies and sell for payment of WASSCE registration form
Two young children have been saved from being sold to strangers after they were allegedly stolen by a desperate family in Imo.
Police authorities in the state said two-year-old Chiemerem and seven-year-old Mmesoma Nwoke were stolen by a a 15-year-old Senior Secondary School pupil, Precious Ehiedo, and two others, Juliet Ogben and Favour Okoh, on November 13.
The suspects, police say, were acting on the order of Precious’ parents who told her to kidnap the children for sale after she asked them for money to buy her WASSCE form.
Chiemerem and Mmesoma were allegedly sold for N800,000 by the suspects.
Police boss in Imo, Dasuki Galadanchi, handed over one of the recovered children, Chiemerem, to their parents at the command’s headquarters in Owerri. He said the police recovered Chiemerem on December 15 at Agbor, Delta State.
Galandachi said, “On November 13 at around 9am, one Precious Ehiedo, 15, daughter of Mr and Mrs Romeo and Uchechi Ehiedo, resident at Ogbuaku in Mbaitoli LGA of Imo State but natives of Abraka in Delta State, requested from her parents money for the SSCE registration.
“Her parents told her to go and steal children for them to sell in order to raise money for her examination. Being familiar with the two children at her maternal home, Umuezeala Ama, in Ehime Mbano LGA of Imo State, she stole the children.
“The girl and her father left for Mbano, but the father stopped at the Amaraku Market square, waiting for his daughter to hand over the children, who he had instructed her to steal.
“The 15-year-old met the children playing, stole them and joined her father at the Amaraku Market and both left with the children to Ogbaku.
“The children were sold to one Mama Joy at the rate of N800,000. Mama Joy, with one Favour Okoh, resold one of the children to one Juliet Ogbor for N750,000,” he added.
The police boss said efforts were ongoing to recover the other child and the suspects would face prosecution in court.
