Police have rescued an 18-month-old baby girl who was stolen from her grandmother in Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria.
The baby was rescued in Festac Town in Lagos by Edo police, who tracked the kidnappers.
Standard Gazette gathered that officers had arrested three people concerning the abduction.
SG learned that the child was stolen from the grandmother by a former female tenant on Nomayo street in Upper Sokponba road, Benin City.
The baby recovered and reunited with her family.
The 18-month-old baby recovered and was reunited with her family.
The woman, Kate Kingsley, from Akwa Ibom, planned her mission and picked her target after relocating from Lagos State.
Standard Gazette learned that Kate carried the baby on her back and told the trusty grandmother that she was buying confectionaries down the street, unknown to her that she won’t see her granddaughter again.
The Nigerian Police said Kate took the baby to Lagos, where she sold her for N600.000 to Koko Etuk, an 81-year-old woman in Festac, Lagos.
Investigators also arrested a second culprit, a female nurse, Doris Ogochukwu, who deposited the sum of N350,000 into Kate’s account to purchase the baby.
Kate told the Police, “I pretended to be helping the baby’s grandmother to take care of her. Some people were already waiting for me in Lagos to buy the baby.
I needed money and decided to steal the baby to raise money to attend to urgent family issues. I stayed in Benin city before, and l know the house where l stole the baby.
“The sum of N400,000 was first paid, and the woman who bought the baby balanced me N200,000”.
The mother of the baby expressed gratitude to the officers and men off the anti-kidnapping and cybercrime unit of the Edo state police command for rescuing her baby.
The mother of the baby, whose name is not mentioned for security reasons, said, “I want to thank the Police for helping me to find my baby. I left her with my mother and went to the market. When l came back, l did not find my baby again.
“I have to report the matter to St Saviour Police station in Benin city, and they later transferred the case to the state CID in Benin city.
“May God bless the policemen, especially the commissioner of Police in Edo state, Abutu Yaro, for helping me out.
“I wonder why someone will still be selling babies. I want the Police to prosecute them very well”.
Edo State Police Public Relations Officer SP Chidi Nwabuzor, who confirmed the incident, promised to expand the investigation to ascertain if the suspect has been involved in baby theft in the past.
The Police are expected to charge the three suspects in court soon.
©Standard Gazette