Policemen attached to the Inspector-General of Police Special Intelligence Response Team (IRT) have smashed a syndicate which specialised in removing babies from their mothers’ wombs before maturity in order to sell them. Police are working on the theory that the syndicate, which is located in Delta State, is running a baby factory and an illegal orphanage. Some of those arrested in connection with the crime are; the General Overseer of Liberation Ministry, Pastor Sunday Chinedu, Madam Isioma Uko, the Chief Medical Director and owner of Ndu Hospital and mortuary in Delta State, Mr Adagbo Samuel aka Baba. Others are Vera Emenike aka Vivian, Monday Joy, Faith Yusuf Desmond and Friday, a panel beater.

The syndicate was busted after IRT operatives, led by a Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Abba Kyari, received information on the illegal activities going in the hospital and embarked on surveillance that ran into weeks. When the policemen were sure that their information was correct, they stormed the hospital. The police said that Samuel specialised in carrying out surgeries on young girls once their pregnancies were six months old. When police stormed his hospital, they found two dead bodies in his dirty mortuary. One of the corpses was that of a pregnant young girl. Incidentally, Samuel is not a trained medical doctor, but has doctors and nurses working for him. They do whatever he orders them to do.

Police said: “The syndicate is using the hospital to engage in human trafficking and operation of illegal orphanage, otherwise known as baby factory. Police received information that Samuel has a criminal syndicate within and outside Agbor.

The Syndicate gets girls, mostly underage and pregnant. The girls would then be lured to the hospital, which has been turned into an illegal orphanage. “Samuel would reach an agreement with the girls. One of the agreements is that he would take extremely good care of them during the period of their pregnancies. After they give birth, he pays them N200, 000 and takes possession of their babies. Investigation has revealed that Samuel has a home at Ayangba in Kogi State, where he transports the children to for sale.

When police stormed the hospital, they discovered that Samuel had two bodies lying in the morgue, while all efforts made to trace families of the bodies had been futile. “The syndicate harvests babies when their young mothers are just six months gone.

Once the babies are brought out, they are put in incubators and then sold when they are nine months old. Samuel claimed that the babies were removed untimely from their mothers’ womb because the young mothers didn’t want people to know they were pregnant.”

One of the victims, who police said the syndicate harvested her baby, is Monday Joy. But Samuel explained that Joy was brought to him by a woman called Favour. Joy later told him that she was six months pregnant. Samuel said that Joy gave birth to a male child, who died after some hours. She would later return to Samuel’s hospital after she got pregnant the second time. Samuel said: “The second child, a baby girl, survived and was sold to a woman. I don’t know the woman’s whereabouts.

I never knew it was a criminal offence to sell children.” Samuel also recalled that there was a time Friday the panel beater once brought a politician identified simply as Honourable Francis, to him. The politician came with a pregnant lady, later identified as Favour. The girl later delivered a baby girl, but the new mother allegedly asked Samuel to sell the baby for her. The baby was sold for N300, 000.

Samuel recounted: “Immediately I collected the money from Francis, I gave it to Favour. She shared it into two. She took N150, 000, while she gave me N100, 000. That same day, Honourable Francis bought another six-month-old baby.

I can take police to Friday, who brought the politician. It is only through Friday that we can get to Honourable Francis. On that day, Francis, Friday came with one Igbo woman called Vivian Emenike. She’s also called Susana.

No, I’m not a medical doctor, but I am the proprietor of the clinic and maternity home. When I could no longer pay doctors and nurse, I suspended them and the patients. No, I am not a mortician. Mr Akpan is my mortician.” One of the suspects, Friday, explained how he got involved with the syndicate.

His words: “About 15 years ago, things were very tough for me and my wife was pregnant. When she went into labour, I took her to the general hospital at Agbor. My wife gave birth to a baby girl. I later told my wife that the baby died.

“Immediately we were discharged, I took the baby to Samuel and sold her for N30, 000. I didn’t know that selling my child was a crime. In 2018, Madam Vivian Emenike came to my shop to ask how she could get a baby, either boy or girl. I took her to Samuel, who sold a baby to her. I don’t know how the baby was sold and no money was given to me.” Another suspect, Isioma Uko, said: “Police arrested me for selling a child. I went to Doctor Samuel with one of my friends. We went there to adopt a baby.

We bought the baby for N600, 000. I bought two; one was sold for N600, 000 and the other for N730, 000. My friend took one, while a nurse took the second one. But I was the one who took them there. Out of the N730, 000, I took N20, 000, while out of the N600, 000 I was given N10, 000, making it a total of N30, 000. I went into this business because I wanted to help Vivian, who was childless and needed a baby.” Responding, Vivian said: “A woman, Onyeka Okon, introduced me to Samuel.

She called Baba on the telephone and then he asked her to give the phone to me; he directed me to his house. When I got there, I asked him if he does abortion, he said yes. He asked me if I was ready to take a baby, but I told him that whatever we discussed, I would go and talk to the people who wanted to buy the baby.

“We agreed on a price and then I went to bring the lady who wanted to buy the baby. I gave the money to Baba and he handed over the baby to me. I gave the baby to the woman and we left. Some minutes after we left, the woman called, asking if the transaction was genuine, I replied yes. She said that she didn’t want a situation where there would be trouble in the future.” The General Overseer of Liberation Ministry, Sunday Chinedu, also has his own story to tell.

He said: “Police arrested me because I did business with Samuel, who we call Baba. The business involved buying of babies. I brought a girl from Edo State to Samuel. The girl is a prostitute, who got pregnant and wanted to get rid of it. The pregnancy was six months gone when she came to my church to ask if I knew where abortion could be carried out. I got to know her during my commercial motorcycling days.”

The pastor continued: “While she was talking to me and crying, a woman walked into my church. She asked why the girl was crying and I explained. She told me she would give me a man’s number, that the man was a doctor. I collected the man’s number, called him, and he directed me to his place.

When we got there, he gave her two options; either to abort the foetus or sell the baby after birth. The lady chose the second option. When the lady gave birth, the doctor called and showed me N300, 000. He took N50, 000, which he said was his share and then gave me N30, 000, while the rest of the money was given to the lady. (New Telegraph)

Update news