The Lagos State Police Command on Thursday paraded one Mrs. Nkechi Obi, 25, over allegedly stealing a baby.
Also arrested in connection with the crime are two other women: Ogechi Njoku and Patience Nwaogbo Ego, the police said.
Mrs. Obi on November 4 carried the baby on public transport from Imo State to Oshodi, Lagos, where she was arrested courtesy of a vigilant driver who had noticed an irregular relationship between the woman and the baby she carried with her.
The driver of the bus reportedly noticed that throughout their journey, the woman did not breastfeed the infant despite its noticeable expression of hunger. He duly informed the police upon their arrival in Lagos, and she was apprehended.
During the investigation, the police said she at first insisted she was the mother of the baby, only to later confess to having received it from her aunt in Imo for delivery to a recipient in Lagos. Although she denied receiving money for what she did, the police said they traced a transaction of N1.01m to the persons involved in the baby transfer.
Parading Mrs. Obi and briefing the press at the State Command, the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Owoseni Fatai, said that the other suspects bolted when they got wind of the arrest of Mrs. Obi.
The police also disclosed that Mrs. Obi’s phone rang during her interrogation, but as they picked it to announce her arrest, the caller immediately hung up and shut off their phone and became unreachable. The police said the caller is suspected to be involved with her in the sale of babies and may have escaped upon realizing the apprehension of their associate.
According to the police, Mrs. Obi has four children in Lagos, but the infant found with her was not one of them.