Agwu's family had petitioned the National Agency for the Protection of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) for assistance in locating a baby boy she rescued in December 2022 from her mentally challenged mother.
The police in Ebonyi State have reportedly concluded plans to dismiss an Inspector, Charity Agwu, for asking for the whereabouts of a child she rescued in December 2022 and handed over to a motherless baby home in Abakaliki, SaharaReporters has learnt.
Agwu's family had petitioned the National Agency for the Protection of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) for assistance in locating a baby boy she rescued in December 2022 from her mentally challenged mother.
The baby was subsequently handed over to a motherless home in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, but has since disappeared.
In the petition addressed to the Director General of NAPTIP, Prof. Fatima Waziri-Azi through a legal firm of C.A. Aiyamekhue & Co., and signed by Comrade Nwugo Chimere Nwugo Esq., Chinedu E. C. Nwogbaga Esq. and Christopher C. Nwangwu Esq. dated July 21, 2024, the family seek NAPTIP's urgent intervention to investigate the circumstances surrounding the baby's disappearance and determine his current whereabouts.
The petition with Ref RCAA/DG/Vol.06/21/2024, was titled: "A case of a child (baby boy) rescued from a mentally challenged woman by Insp. Charity Agwu along Centenary City Road, Abakaliki, Ebonyi State on her way to eat on her way to eat on the 2nd day of December, 2022: a call for thorough and discrete investigation to unravel the whereabouts of the child and his custody."
In the petition which was on the instructions of Mrs. Janet Alex, Chinyere Nwele senior sisters of Mrs Charity Agwu, on behalf of themselves and their family, she narrated how Charity rescued the said baby on December 2, 2022, reported the case to the Central Police Station (CPS) covering the area, where the child was rescued but the circumstances was neither recorded nor the matter incidented.
The female police officer subsequently, according to the petition, reported the matter to the State Police Command Abakaliki, and the child was taken to the Police Clinic for medical intervention considering the health condition of the child on rescue.
The petition noted that Charity was interviewed by the Deputy Commissioner of Police, State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) in respect of the child. Interviewed by the Commissioner of Police, and the child was circumcised on the 3rd of December, 2022 after she had written an undertaking to take care of the baby until when the family of the mother will come forward since the mother is mentally ill.
The petitioners narrated how, their sister took the baby to the Ministry of Women Affairs for proper documentation and later hand over to the motherless baby's home because the former State Commissioner for Women Affairs, Mrs. Deborah Chinwe Okah, would not allow her go home with the baby she had earlier signed undertaking to nurture.
The petitioners said that after the baby was handed over to the motherless home, their sister was barred from seeing the baby at the home and later disappeared without trace as neither the police nor the ministry of women affairs made any efforts to locate the family of the mother of the baby.
Following her question about the whereabouts of the baby, Charity was arrested and orderly room trial initiated to cover up and silence her because of the involvement of a senior police officer in the disappearance of the said baby in convenience with former commissioner for women affairs.
Police sources in Abakaliki told SaharaReporters on Thursday evening that the police provost that conducted orderly room trial against Inspector Agwu, has concluded the trial and was to make the report available on Wednesday, October 30, 2024 because Inspector Charity was on a federal assignment in Anambra.
One of the sources who saw the report told SaharaReporters that the orderly room trial had recommended Charity's dismissal from the Force, accusing her of exposing the government's secret by raising questions over the disappearance of the baby she rescued.
"In short on Wednesday the provost was raging for the absence of Inspector Charity in office despite she was sent on Inspector General of Police assignment in Anambra State," the source said.
"The arrogant attitude of the provost led the head of Charity's unit to question why the desperation to dismiss her because she complained about the whereabouts of a child she rescued from her mentally challenged mother that is still alive."
"I'm sure that immediately Inspector Charity Agwu returns to Abakaliki, she will be dismissed, although she has seven days to appeal against the dismissal.
"What marvels me is the offence the police claimed she committed. How can it be offence that someone rescued a child and when it disappeared she raised an alarm?" the source questioned.
Meanwhile, Agwu's family petition was also copied to the Police Service Commission, Inspector General of Police and the National Human Rights Commission.
The petitioners had stated, "On arrival at the Ministry of Women Affairs the Commissioner Mrs. Deborah Chinwe Okah, without hearing from Charity started quarrelling and ordered the child be handed over to her else she would invite the dreaded Ebube Agu local security outfit (now out lawed) to deal decisively with her."
Despite the threats, she stood her ground and maintained her stand not to hand over the baby to her without proper documentation, and opted to take the baby to the motherless baby's home Abakaliki where she will be visiting to see and monitor the development, growth and welfare of the baby pending when the family of his mother would be contacted.
The petitioner noted that after their sister handed over the baby to the motherless home, she was prevented from seeing the child and later disappeared.
The petitioners, however, requested NAPTIP to make Deborah Chinwe Okah and Loveth Uche Ogboya, ASP Grace Ogbusua and W/Inspr. Maureen Ezeogo account for the whereabouts of the baby.
Meanwhile, SaharaReporters' efforts to speak with the Command's spokesperson, DSP Joshua Ukandu, were unsuccessful as he did not take his calls as at the time of filing this report.