Police arrest 71-year-old pastor, wife for buying baby for N500,000

A 71- year old retired pastor of a pentecostal church in
Abriba, Ohafia Local Government Area of Abia State, Rev.
Chima Egbochiogum, and his wife, Ugo, have been arrested
for an alleged illegal adoption of a baby.
Commissioner of Police, Joshak Habila, who paraded the
couple in Umuahia, alongside other suspects in connection
with the incident, alleged they bought a stolen baby.
The police boss said the pastor and his wife were nabbed
following a confession by a notorious child trafficker who
was arrested last month for human trafficking.
According to him, the child trafficker, identified simply as
Ekwutosi, stole an 11-month-old baby girl belonging to a 21-
year -old pregnant mother, who he had pretended to assist.
He said Ekwutosi had approached the young woman, who
had a baby out of wedlock, with promise that he would
secure a job opportunity for her.
The excited woman was said to have left her baby in the
custody of Ekwotosi when she went to buy food for her.
“But by the time the mother returned, Ekwutosi had
disappeared with the baby,” the police commissioner said.
According to Habila, the suspect was later intercepted by the
police at Owerrinta when he was allegedly trafficking
pregnant girls to Port Harcourt.
He said the suspect confessed to his criminal activities
including the stealing of the 11- month old baby during
interrogations.
His confession led to the arrest of the pastor who allegedly
adopted the stolen baby.
Habila said the suspect sold the baby at the cost of N500,
000 to the wife of the pastor.
But later in an interview with journalists, the pastor said he
was not aware that the baby adopted by his wife was a
stolen child.
The retired cleric had married his second wife following the
death of his first wife, who had born children to him.
He said he was innocent of the crime as he thought the
adoption followed due process.
Meanwhile, his second wife, who had yet to have a baby of
her own, decided to adopt a baby.
According to the woman, she was contacted by one Maria
Mba, who told her that one of her relations, a teenager,
wanted to give out a baby she had out of wedlock.
She said that the baby was paid for at the premises of the
Federal Medical Centre Umuahia where it was allegedly
delivered to her. She also claimed that she did not know that
the baby was stolen.
Meanwhile, there was a mild drama when the notorious
trafficker, Ekwutosi said he did not receive up to N500,000 in
the transaction claiming that the intermediary, Mba short-
changed him.
But Mba said she only kept back N100,000 as her
commission , insisting that she gave N400,000 to Ekwutosi.