Police raid baby foster home, arrest 11

Tuesday, August 12, 2008              

Police raid baby foster home, arrest 11
From Lawrence Njoku, Enugu

THE Police yesterday raided a foster home alleged to specialise in breeding babies for sale to members of the public located at Nsude, Udi Local Council of Enugu State and arrested seven teenage pregnant girls and five other workers of the facility.

Also arrested in the raid was the chief medical director of the home, identified as Tex Hospital and Maternity, Dr. Ikechukwu Onoh, the laboratory scientist, Emmanuel Ude and Linus Ogbodo, an assistant to the medical chief and two female nurses.

The incident yesterday is the second in less than two months in the state as one Dr. Chris Akunne had earlier been arrested alongside 20 teenage pregnant girls found in his illegal foster home in Enugu awaiting delivery.

The police team drawn from the Nsude divisional station led by Simeon Aduba, a Sergeant, stormed the home at about 11a.m. yesterday, on receiving reports that an expectant teenage girl, Matilda Ani, was allegedly being held hostage at the hospital in the past one week.

It was gathered that any pregnant teenager that enters the maternity home was allegedly detained even against her wish and could only be allowed to go when she must have been delivered of the baby which is then left for the authorities of the hospital, who in turn sold them.

The Guardian gathered that Matilda Ani, said to be pregnant for one Chukwudi Okafor, was allegedly picked up from her residence in Nsude and "detained at the hospital awaiting delivery", after her initial refusal to abort the pregnancy.

She was said to have stayed at the home in the last one week.

However, luck was said to have ran on her captors, when one of the pregnant ladies allowed her the use of her handset to contact one of the directors of an Enugu-based non-governmental organisation.

Following the outcry, the Police in Nsude were contacted.

Narrating the incident to reporters at the hospital premises, Ani said that she was forced into the foster home by persons she suspected to be friends to her boyfriend, who wanted her to abort the pregnancy before now.

She said that she was taken away from her house a week ago and kept captive at the foster home under the care of some of the nurses.

"However, on Sunday night when one of the pregnant ladies walked into the hospital, I begged to use her phone which she obliged me. They collected my phones and everything I had making it difficult for me to reach out to people. With the phone, I was able to call for help," she said.

The owner of the home, (Onoh) denied forcing the pregnant young lady into the hospital. He said: "My duty is to help any pregnant girl that comes into the place to deliver her baby".

He denied selling such babies to the public, stressing that " I am into legitimate business and the Social Welfare Ministry is aware of this."

Efforts to reach the Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Michael Abattam, on the next line of action over the arrested persons failed.

All the arrested persons were detained at Nsude, from where they would be transferred to the State Police Command for further investigations.

State co-odinator of the Resident NGOs in Enugu, Mr. Elias Igwe, while reacting to the story yesterday, called on the government and officials of the state Ministry of Health to intervene as according to him, "a bad precedence is being set in the state."

The National Security and Civil Defence Corps in Enugu recently arrested 20 teenage pregnant girls in Akunne's custody.

Akunne, who is currently facing trial over the crime, is still being held in Enugu prison following his inability to meet his bail conditions.