published with credit to time.com.ng
A lawyer and his wife have been arrested in Warri, Delta State, over claims that they sold a newborn baby three years after the child’s mother was told the infant had died at birth.
Barrister Solomon Igbiaye and his wife, Abigail Igbiaye, were taken into custody at the Ekpan Police Station on Wednesday following a formal complaint by the mother. The couple are alleged to have worked with a woman identified as Mary, also known as Bridget, in the suspected scheme.
According to sources familiar with the case, the mother, also named Abigail, became pregnant in 2023 after returning to her village in Jos, Plateau State. The man responsible for the pregnancy allegedly abandoned her. A woman from the village offered to take her to Warri for support. Upon arrival, she was received by the lawyer’s wife, who assured her she would be cared for until she delivered.
Days before the birth, the pregnant woman was taken to Vicar Clinic, where labour was induced. She underwent a Caesarean section and delivered a baby girl. A nurse briefly showed her the newborn. Shortly afterwards, Bridget informed her that the baby had died.
The mother became suspicious and demanded to be taken to the burial site, but the request was refused. Four days after the delivery, she was driven away by the lawyer’s wife and Bridget and abandoned in a dilapidated building in the Shaguolo area of Ekpan. Her surgical wounds later became infected. With no money and nowhere to go, she survived by begging before eventually securing a ride back to Jos in a truck.
Sources claim the lawyer’s wife paid Bridget ₦166,000 in connection with the arrangement, while the mother received nothing.
The breakthrough came when a housemaid named Kindness, who worked at the lawyer’s residence and came from the same village as the mother, contacted her. Kindness sent a photograph of the baby and said the child strongly resembled the mother. She also revealed that the infant had been brought to the lawyer’s home.
Armed with this information, the mother approached the police. Officers arrested the lawyer, his wife and Bridget. The baby was later rescued and is currently in police custody.
The Delta State Police Public Relations Officer, Bright Edafe, had not responded to enquiries at the time of the original report. Investigators are now examining the full circumstances surrounding the birth, the reported death, and the alleged transfer or sale of the child.
The case remains under active investigation.
Credit: This account is based on reporting for time.com.ng.
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