Police Bust Illegal Baby Factory in Ekiti, Arrest Five, Rescue Six Children
The Ekiti State Police Command has dismantled an alleged illegal baby factory operating in Ikere Local Government Area of the state, arresting five suspects and rescuing six children believed to be victims of exploitation.
The Commissioner of Police, Joe Eribo, disclosed this while briefing journalists in Ado-Ekiti on Tuesday.
In a video sighted by VERITY NEWS, he said the operation followed actionable intelligence received by the command.
According to him, officers stormed a building located behind a popular hotel along Ise-Ekiti Road, Ikere-Ekiti, where they arrested the alleged ringleader, Onyechi Oluwadare, 43, alongside four others. Those taken into custody were identified as Onuoha Gloria (28), Victoria Linus (25), Ihegbogu Mercy (21), and Emmanuel Esther (23), who was said to be heavily pregnant at the time of arrest.
Eribo explained that a search of the premises led to the rescue of six children aged between two and nine years, who were suspected to be held under unlawful conditions. Items recovered from the location included baby delivery equipment, rolls of dexamethasone tablets and bottles of Goya oil.
However, the prime suspect, Oluwadare, denied running an illegal baby factory, claiming that the premises was only used as a prayer centre for people seeking divine intervention.
In a separate development, the police command also announced the arrest of a suspected notorious cattle rustler, Ibrahim Abubakar. Investigations revealed that Abubakar had allegedly been involved in cattle rustling activities across Ekiti, Kwara and Kogi states and had remained on the wanted list of the three states for years.
The police said the suspect confessed to attacking cattle owners on several occasions and stealing livestock. A total of 255 rustled cattle were recovered directly from him, while an additional 303 cattle were recovered from another prime suspect connected to the operation, bringing the total number of recovered cattle to 558.
The police command said investigations into both cases are ongoing, adding that all suspects will be charged to court upon the conclusion of investigations.