A housewife, Mrs Fatima Adamu has been arrested by the Police in Niger State for allegedly stealing a day old baby girl from her mother, one Samsiya Auwalu, in connivance with the ex-husband of the baby’s mother. Also arrested was a teenager, Aisha Badamasi, Adamu’s niece who was used to ferry the baby away by strapping her on her back.
Adamu was also accused of setting the apartment of the mother of the stolen baby ablaze with liquid substance suspected to be petrol after the theft, in order to cause confusion among the family members of the stolen baby .
The incident occurred at Ungwa Kaje in Bosso Local Government Area of the state at about 11: 00a.m last Tuesday, when the suspect was left in the room with the baby.
Information gathered by Crime Reports had it that shortly after the theft, the suspect handed the baby over to her niece, Aisha, who accompanied her to the scene of the crime, and instructed her to leave while she remained behind to set some of the clothes in the room on fire with the liquid substance in a container hidden in her bag.
The Director General, Niger State Child Rights Agency, Barrister Mariam Haruna Kolo whose office reported the matter officially to the police, told Crime Reports that the baby’s mother discovered the stealing of her baby when she returned to her room.
In a brief chat with Crime Reports last Wednesday in Minna, Barrister Kolo said that the nursing mother raised the alarm when she noticed this.
To perfect her plan, the suspect reportedly advised the new mother to go and take her bath, failure of which could cause her baby ill-health, an advice Samsiya heeded, giving the suspect the opportunity to carry out her plan.
When asked to produce her niece after the theft, Fatimah reportedly claimed ignorance of her whereabouts but the niece was later apprehended with the baby still strapped to her back.
Upon interrogation, Fatimah was said to have confessed that one Mohammed Shehu, an ex-husband of the new mother, was the mastermind of the crime. He and Samsiya reportedly separated about a year before the birth of the baby.
He was said to have planned the abduction of the baby when he learnt that his ex-wife put to bed, with the intention to demand for the N40,000 he paid as dowry on the ex-wife, before he would release the baby.
This was confirmed by the ex-husband as he said he wanted to use the baby to negotiate the refund of his money. The day-old baby girl had since been re-united with her mother .
Meanwhile, Barrister Kolo has expressed shock over the incident, describing the theft of the little baby as very disheartening.
She added that government would follow the case up in order to make it serve as a deterrent to others in the future.