The Lagos State Police Command have launched investigation into how two teenage girls living in Iyana-Ipaja, Lagos State, sold their organs to a medical doctor in Abeokuta, Ogun State, for N100,000 each without the consent of their parents.
According to Vanguard, the teenagers, Precious Ikechukwu (17), daughter of the Bishop and Founder of Living Word Anointed Gospel Mission, and her father’s secretary, Theresa Obam (19), allegedly collaborated with one Mrs. Adeleke Blessing, an adult church member, to visit a doctor at Redwood Specialist Hospital in Abeokuta, where their organs were sold for N100,000 each.
Their deed was discovered on September 12, 2022, when Precious, started throwing up. Her father, Ikechukwu Umeayo, took her to the hospital because he thought she had malaria or typhoid. There, the doctor asked for a medical exam, which subsequently revealed that her anus and private parts were damaged.
The sick girl, who reportedly lost consciousness after her medical condition was exposed, later regained consciousness and told her father that Mrs. Adeleke Blessing took them to Ogun State where their organs were sold to a doctor.
The teenagers further claimed that Mrs. Adeleke persuaded them to commit the unlawful act because the bishop, her father, was underpaying them and promised to drive them to a location where they would be lavishly compensated with N100,000. Additionally, they claimed Mrs. Adeleke threatened to murder them if they told their father or parents.
Describing how the transplant was carried out, the girls claimed that Mrs. Adeleke Blessing, better known as Mummy K, transported them to Redwood Hospital in Abeokuta, Ogun State, without their parents’ permission. There, she teamed up with Dr. Durodola who injected them with some drugs.
They said they were also unlawfully taken to a PDF hospital in Surulere, Lagos, where a doctor took their ovaries, eggs, and organs, resulting in excruciating pain and bleeding.
Given the shocking information, the teenagers were transferred to a different hospital in Surulere, Lagos, where they underwent a medical laboratory test and scan. The results showed that the 46 ovaries that were harvested had caused damage to the teenagers’ liver, uterus, urinary bladder, kidney, spleen, and gall bladder.
When contacted, Bishop Umeayo told Vanguard that when his daughter Precious was taken to the hospital and the test was done, her younger siblings informed him that they knew their sister was ill because she frequently visited the bathroom with medical equipment and came out dripping blood.
He said Mrs. Adeleke, the prime suspect, frequently attended church vigils and was staying with her mother-in-law in the property where the church is located. According to information obtained, Favour resides with Bishop Ikechukwu who empoyed her as his secretary and pays her N20,000 per month, while his daughter, Precious, is an hairstylist who makes Mrs. Adeleke’s hair in exchange for payment.
The incident was reported to the Iyana-Ipaja police station, and they later transferred it for additional inquiry to the State Criminal Investigations and Intelligence Bureau, SCIID, Panti, Yaba, Lagos.
The case, however, took a different turn after the aggrieved bishop’s attorney, Ikechukwu Chiaha, suspected that the police may have compromised over the case after learning that the investigators were asking for an amicable settlement and payment of N300,000, of which he claimed the police would keep N200,000. On the basis of this, Chiaha forwarded the case to NAPTIP, the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons, which has since launched a new investigation.
Reacting to the accusation, Mrs. Adeleke, the main suspect, claimed that the victims voluntarily surrendered their eggs.
“The two girls volunteered to donate their eggs to the hospital, after listening to my phone conversation with a doctor and, in return, they were compensated with N100,000, of which Favour gave me N20,000 for introducing them to the hospital.” she said
When contacted, Lagos State Police spokesman, David Hundeyin, said;
“It was not organ harvesters, the operation was carried out by a professional doctor and the process was legal. All documents were signed and the girls stated in the document that they were above 18 years. The doctor told them about the consequences of feeling pain for two days, after and they accepted and donated their organs. Unfortunately, they did not inform their father about it and the father is requesting for N200 million as compensation.”
