Two arrested as four pregnant girls get rescued from Ogun baby factory
Four pregnant girls and four kids have been rescued at a baby factory in Ofada, Mowe area of the Obafemi-Owode Local Government Area of Ogun State.
They were rescued by men of the state police command on Tuesday after the operation of the illegal motherless babies home was busted.
The operator of the factory, one Mrs. Florence Ogbonna, reportedly fled but her daughter and a physically challenged man were arrested.
The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, DSP Abimbola Oyeyemi, said Ogbonna had been selling babies delivered by young girls in the home.
Oyeyemi added that the fleeing operator of the baby factory was on bail after she was arrested and taken to court for a similar offence.
He said Ogbonna was standing trial for human trafficking but decided to return to “normal duty”.
The PPRO added that the pregnant ladies whose ages range between 18 and 24, were brought from Imo, Abia, Akwa Ibom and Ebonyi states on the pretext of finding jobs for them but they were hired into the illicit sex trade.
Oyeyemi said the command had launched a manhunt for the woman with a view to bring her to justice. According to him, one of the victims who resisted the plan to put her baby up for sale, escaped and reported the illicit activities at the home to the police.
“The command has started investigation on the matter and she is going to be charged. She still has a case in court and she is enjoying the bail. This is a fresh case.
One of the victims, Chindera Onuoha, said she reported to the police when the operator wanted to sell her baby. When asked how much a baby costs, she said, if the baby is a boy, they sell it for N250,000. If its a girl, its N200,000.
Meanwhile, the state government has declared five children missing from the Stella Obasanjo Motherless Babies Home in Abeokuta. The Stella Obasanjo Motherless Children’s home is owned by the state government.
The government made the disclosure in a statement by the Commissioner for Information, Abdulwaheed Odusile on Tuesday.
Odusile said the government’s attention was drawn to an incident concerning five children, who allegedly escaped from the home.
He said it had become imperative for the government to clear the air and that it reported the incident to the police on Friday after discovering that the children were missing the previous night.
He explained that the children did not have free access to go out of the premises, adding that there was no thoroughfare on the premises.
According to him they are strictly monitored and it is shocking that they found their way out of the premises.