A 28-year-old woman, Adaeze Lawrence, has been detained by the Abia State Police Command for snatching her friend’s one-month-and-two-day-old newborn boy.
According to reports, Onyinyechi Owujie, the mother of the child, trusted Lawrence and grew to like her before committing the crime.
The suspect, a hair stylist, was friends with Owujie’s older sister at school and used that connection to contact Owujie. She allegedly asked that they celebrate the baby’s birth and then fled with the child while they were doing so.
The crime was reported to the police, who then detained her in her hiding place, according to a statement from the state police’s public relations officer, ASP Chioma Chinaka.
According to the spokesperson, credible intelligence led to the suspect’s arrest on Monday, August 14, 2023.
The suspect first denied kidnapping the infant, insisting that he was hers, but after a medical examination confirmed that she was not the boy’s real mother, she confessed to the crime.
The statement read;
“On August 14, 2023, around 4pm, the Abia State Police Special Weapons and Tactics Team, Aba, received credible information and effectively apprehended one Adaeze Lawrence of Amaogbonna Road, off Osisikakwu Street in Aba.
She was found in possession of a baby boy who is one month and two days old. During interrogation, the accused confessed to abducting the child from Onyinyechi Owujie’s residence situated at 5, Cricke Road, off Nigeria Brewery, Aba.
Investigation revealed that the suspect and the baby’s mother’s elder sister were schoolmates. The suspect took advantage of this relationship to gain the baby’s mother’s trust.
The suspect, under the pretence of visiting her friend, requested to celebrate the new baby’s birth. On their celebration outing, she absconded with the baby.
Upon the suspect’s arrest, Adaeze Lawrence denied the crime, but medical examinations from the police clinic disproved her claims, leading to her confession. The child’s biological mother identified the baby, confirming the abduction on August 6, 2023.”
Chinaka recommended that the public be watchful of their children and be aware of their locations, especially while in a public place, and said that an investigation into the issue was still underway.
