Top Leader Of Human Trafficking  Syndicate Arrested Over Stolen 4 Children 

MICHAEL AKINOLA 

The Police Intelligence team from the State Criminal Investigation Department, Yaba, Lagos, have arrested a top leader of human trafficking syndicate, a 38-year year old woman, Philomena Nweke, who allegedly supplied four stolen babies to a 52-year old woman in order to deceive her husband that she could conceive after 20 years of marriage.

P.M.EXPRESS reports that the suspect, Philomena Nweke, was tracked and arrested in Aba town, Abia State and brought to Lagos for investigation for her to reveal where she got children, who she sold to one Mrs. Margaret Ejemogo, who lives with her husband, Johnson, at Onawale Street, off Afiz Lawal Street, Alagbado area of Lagos and collected N9m from him.

According to Police sources, the four stolen children have been rescued and taken into protective custody at the Lagos State Government facility as efforts being made to locate their parents have proved abortive. 

Philomena’s arrest followed confessional statement from the woman behind the scam and child theft, Mrs. Margaret, who hails from Akwa Ibom State, got married to Johnson about 20 years ago and had a daughter, who is now 17, who implicated her to the Police and she was eventually tracked. 

Mrs. Margaret was said to have stayed several years in the marriage and was unable to bear another child. She was worried that she would lose her marriage if she did not bear any other child for her husband, Johnson.The woman then reportedly arranged with one Mrs. Okocha, now at large, who claimed to be running a fertility herbal home in Amuwo Odofin area of Lagos and a suspected human trafficker, Mrs. Nneka, on how to fake pregnancy, buy stolen babies and deceive her husband.

In 2015, Margaret introduced her husband, Johnson to Mrs. Okocha as a traditional herbal home doctor, who deals only with fertility problems on women in the Amuwo Odofin area of Lagos. Mrs. Okocha promised the man, Johnson, that she will treat his wife, Margret and she will become pregnant and bear him a child. Johnson believed her and parted with over N9m.

After sometime, Johnson was informed that his wife, Margaret was pregnant and he would not sleep with her again until after the birth of the child. 

According to Johnson, he believed them because he saw the big stomach of his wife resembling that of a pregnant woman. Later, Mrs. Margret informed her husband, Johnson, that she had been delivered of twins – a boy and a girl and the babies were named.

Again in 2017, just the same way, they faked the pregnancy and Margret informed her husband, Johnson, that she was delivered of another set of twins, a boy and a girl. They also named the babies and went for thanksgiving in their church.

However, the whole scam got exposed when the children began to grow and started behaving strangely. And there was no single sign of resemblance of the children to either their father, Johnson or mother, Margaret, which gave rise to suspicion and prompted Johnson to take the children for DNA test to ascertain both paternity and maternity of the children. 

The result of the DNA test showed that there was no single link between the children and their parents despite the hope Margret had given the husband, Johnson, that they were the real biological parents of the children. 

Shocked and betrayed, Johnson reported the scam to the Police to investigate his wife and those behind the alleged scam. And during interrogation, Philomena Nweke was mentioned and she was arrested. 

Both Philomena and Margaret have been charged before the Ebutte Meta Magistrates Court, where they are facing trial over the alleged conspiracy and theft of babies.