Corporal arrested over alleged child theft in PH

A police Corporal in Port Harcourt, Rivers State Command (names withheld) has been arrested over the theft of a five- month-old baby and selling it for
N250,000 to a childless Rivers woman, who is married to a foreigner.

Nigeria newspapers gathered that the policeman, who allegedly connived with four others, instigated a family friend of the baby’s parents (called Anthony) to steal the child  and allegedly assured that he (policeman) would ensure that he was not arrested.

Anthony had presented himself as a top official of a motherless babies’ home in the city to the buyer of the baby, while the policeman, who impersonated an officer of the home, said he would sign all the necessary papers to procure the baby from the home. The woman had requested to adopt a child.

Before the agreed day, Anthony and the policeman had presented the photograph of the baby to be “adopted” to the buyer, who entertained the group lavishly, while putting finishing touches to her travel papers to exit Nigeria with the child.

To actualise the plan after collecting N250, 000, Anthony, it was learnt, visited the business shop of the child’s mother on Ojoto Street, Diobu and pretended to be the good family friend by offering to play with the baby girl, while the woman typed the documents brought by him.

But shortly afterwards, he bolted with the child. On finishing typing the document, the woman could not locate Anthony and the child prompting her to raise alarm and report the incident to the police station in Diobu. Anthony was picked up at his residence where he was cooling off with some bottles of beer “for a job well done”.