Police raid baby factory in Port Harcourt, arrest cleric, pregnant women
Police in Rivers have arrested a cleric and 16 pregnant women following a raid on a suspected baby factory in Port Harcourt.
The cleric was identified by the police as Glory Raphael.
State police commissioner, Zaki Ahmed said on Saturday that Raphael engaged in child trafficking.
“Men of the Criminal intelligence and Investigation Department in a sting operation on Friday stormed the premises of one Gloria Raphael, who is the General Overseer of Mount Sinai Ministry at Rukpokwu. She is into the business of child trafficking.
“Sixteen pregnant women awaiting delivery and onward sale of the children to the waiting buyers were arrested. One of them by name Chinyere Nweke had labour yesterday (Friday) and was rushed to the police clinic where she gave birth to a baby girl,” Ahmed said.
One of the pregnant women who were arrested, Gloria Raphael said she was arrested because she helped take some girls to a midwife for delivery.
“There was a day my sister, Esther Joseph, called me to come and help her; that somebody was sick.
“So, they brought the girl. She brought two other girls to me and they were having discharge. I gave them to a midwife to deliver them. Some of the girls came for prayers; they have husbands,” she said.
One of the young pregnant women, Sandra Solomon, explained that she was told that she could sell her baby to a church when she discovered that she was pregnant.
“I became pregnant and I did not know what to do. So, a lady told me that they sell babies in that church and I came there. The woman did not tell me how much they sell. I don’t want to sell my baby. As we were sleeping in the church, police came and arrested all of us,” she added.
Also, a 17-year-old pregnant girl, Favour Gabriel, disclosed that the man that impregnated her took her to the cleric and promised to take her back as soon as she was delivered of her baby.
