A 17-year-old boy named Noble Uzuchi has been arrested by the Rivers State Police Command in Nigeria for impregnating 10 ladies.
The defendant and his accomplice, 29-year-old Chigozie Ogbonna, were both apprehended.
According to the law enforcement authorities, the two suspects, and two other ladies, Favour Bright, 30; and Peace Alikoi, 40 were allegedly running a baby factory.
The Rivers Police Public Relations Officer, Grace Iringe-Koko said that the arrests were carried out following a tipoff.
In a statement, the police boss said that the four suspects operated in the Obio/Akpor and Ikwerre local government areas of the state before their arrest.
She added that the 10 pregnant ladies had been rescued by officers after the raid and arrest of the suspects.
"On Saturday, January 7, 2023, at around 4:45 p.m., C4I Intelligence Unit agents stormed two homes in the towns of Igwuruta and Omagwa, where victims of child trafficking were being detained, acting on reliable information made available to the Rivers State Police Command.
"The victims rescued in the operation are 10, most of them pregnant,” Iringe-Koko, a Superintendent of Police said in the statement
She said that according to investigations, some of the babies who had previously been delivered in the houses had been sold. She also said that when a victim gave birth, the syndicate leader kept the child and gave her N500,000.
"All of the victims admitted that they were persuaded to engage in the illegal selling of children in order to overcome some financial obstacles. The syndicate boss was found with a white Honda Pilot Jeep.
The State Criminal Investigation Department has been given the case to continue its investigation and perhaps prosecute the accused.
Meanwhile, efforts are underway to track and arrest the buyers of the children already sold to answer for their crimes.
Adomonline
