A woman, Adaeze Lawrence of Amaogbonna Road, off Osisikakwu street in Aba, Abia, has been arrested by the police in the state for the alleged abduction of a one-month-old infant.
According to Chioma Maureen Chinaka, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) of the Command on behalf of the Police Commissioner, Kenechukwu Onwuemelie, the arrest was made on August 14 by the Abia State SWAT team in Aba after receiving credible information.
Chinaka, in the statement made available to newsmen disclosed that the suspect confessed to abducting the child from Owujie Onyinyechi Gift’s residence, situated at 5 Cricke Road, near Nigeria Brewery, Aba.
The suspect and the baby’s mother’s elder sister were said to be schoolmates.
The police image maker said, “The suspect took advantage of this relationship to gain the baby’s mother’s trust.
“The suspect, under the pretence of visiting her friend, requested to celebrate the new baby’s birth. On their celebration outing, she absconded with the baby.
“Upon the suspect’s arrest, Adaeze Lawrence denied the crime but medical examinations from the police clinic disproved her claims, leading to her confession.”
Furthermore, the Abia Police Command said the child’s biological mother positively identified the baby, confirming the abduction took place on August 6, 2023.
The Command also advised the general public to maintain constant supervision of their children and exercise caution when strangers take an interest in their children, especially in public places.
The Police assured that an investigation into the matter is still ongoing.
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Meanwhile, a community policing organisation, Ganaja/Ajaokuta Neighbourhood Watch, has cleared the air on a suspect identified as Jerry Isaac, arrested with a few cartridges of ammunition.
Earlier, Faruk Adejoh-Audu, Director of Communications, Murtala Yakubu Ajaka Campaign Organisation, had issued a statement in which he claimed the man was arrested on Sunday while attempting to plant ammunition on the campaign train of the Kogi State Governorship Candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP).
Audu, in his statement, said the incident occurred at 4 pm, at Goshen Hotel, Ganaja Lokoja, while a crowd was waiting to receive Ajaka, who was returning from a campaign event in Kogi East.
He alleged that the suspect, who is from Bassa Local Government Area of Kogi State, was arrested with two cartons of bullet cartridges hidden amongst crates of minerals in a tricycle otherwise known as Keke NAPEP.
According to him: “The suspect had pretended to be a delivery man making supplies at the Hotel. When plainclothes policemen from the C Division of the Kogi State Police Command manning the hotel stopped the suspect for a search of the items, two other passengers in the tricycle suddenly took to their heels.
“This reinforced the suspicion of the officers who held unto Mr Isaac and took the trunk of the tricycle apart. When the ammunition was discovered, supporters waiting to receive Ajaka attempted to mete jungle justice on Isaac but were restrained by the policemen. The suspect was whisked away to the C Division Police Station at 200 Units Housing Estate, Gadumo, Lokoja, from where he was said to have been transferred to the police headquarters.”
In a swift reaction on Monday, the Ganaja-Ajaokuta Neighbourhood Watch said the suspect arrested on Sunday around the venue to receive the SDP governorship candidate was a known hunter.
This was contained in a statement signed by the public relations officer of the association, Prince Peter Ugbeta.
He said the statement was meant to correct false information being circulated concerning the suspect.
“The person is an identified hunter who didn’t mean any harm to Murtala Yakubu Ajaka,” he stated, calling on the general public, particularly the security agencies, to take note.