The Oyo State Police Command has arrested a 23-year-old lady, Itunu Adepoju, for allegedly stealing her benefactor’s three-day-old baby in Ibadan, the state capital.
The state Police Public Relations Officer, Adewale Osifeso, in a statement on Wednesday, said the suspect had a stillbirth and went to a hospital in Ibadan for treatment, where she met the 36-year-old mother of the baby, Monsurat Lateef.
The statement read, “The dragnet of the eagle-eyed crack detectives attached to the command’s Special Enquiry Bureau caught up with one Itunu Adepoju, 23, of Badore area, Ajah, Lagos State, who on July 19, 2022, surreptitiously absconded with a three-day-old female baby from her mother.
“Preliminary findings reveal that the mother, Monsurat Lateef, was delivered of a female child on Saturday, July 16, 2022, to the delight of her family at the Mission House, Yahora Faith Mission, Itamerin, Ogbere.
“On Tuesday, July 19, 2022, she proceeded to Abaemu General Hospital, Ona-Ora, to initiate immunisation proceedings for her daughter from where she met the suspect, who approached her as a friendly patient who also sought medical treatment.
“Unknown to Monsurat, the suspect had just suffered a stillbirth and had been referred to the same health facility for a scan.
“They got chatting and the suspect indicated interest in moving down to Ibadan from Lagos, saying she was in dire need of accommodation. Monsurat, driven by empathy, decided to oblige the total stranger by assisting her.