By An Ogun baby factory operating out of Abaren Village, Mowe, has been dismantled by police, who rescued two heavily pregnant women and four children and arrested six suspects in what the command described as a breakthrough in its fight against human trafficking and child exploitation.
Inside the Ogun Baby Factory Raid
According to a statement issued Tuesday by the command’s spokesperson, DSP Oluseyi Babaseyi, operatives from the Mowe Division acted on sustained intelligence and stormed the Ogun baby factory’s hideout on Toluwalase Street in Abaren Village, off Gbarinmole, at about 8 am on Monday, August 24. Preliminary investigations had suggested that human trafficking and illegal adoption activities had been going on at the facility for some time.
During the operation, police rescued two pregnant women held at the facility, 23-year-old Ilesanmi Foluke, who was seven months pregnant, and 20-year-old Ejekwa Melody, eight months pregnant. Four children, two boys and two girls, were also recovered from the scene. Six suspects tied to the Ogun baby factory were arrested, identified as Florence Ogbona, 58; Magdalene Julius, 63; Chidike Egwuonwu, 40; Onyechu Chidike, 35; Stephen Ogbona, 39; and a nurse identified as Oseni Idaya, who had been attending to victims at the facility.
Newborn Linked to Ogun Baby Factory Still Unaccounted For
Follow-up investigations led officers to a hospital in the Mowe area, where they found another victim, 26-year-old Blessing Bright Effiong, who had given birth to a baby boy on August 20. Babaseyi said that while the mother was receiving medical care, the whereabouts of her newborn son could not be established, prompting the arrest of the attending nurse as police work to locate the missing infant.
The Ogun baby factory case has since been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department at Eleweran, Abeokuta, where investigators are working to establish the full scope of the syndicate’s operations, trace the missing baby and ensure that every culpable suspect faces prosecution. Babaseyi said the public would be updated as the investigation progresses.
Police Commend Ogun Baby Factory Operation, Renew Vigilance Appeal
Ogun State Commissioner of Police, Bode Ojajuni commended the Mowe Division for its swift and efficient response to the Ogun baby factory case, and reaffirmed the command’s commitment to stamping out human trafficking, child trading, and other violent crimes across the state.
Ojajuni urged residents to remain vigilant and continue supporting police efforts by providing timely and credible information, promising that the command would sustain its intelligence-led approach to policing to protect lives and property across Ogun State. Members of the public were encouraged to report suspicious persons or activities through the command’s Gateway Shield toll-free line, 0800 000 9111, or its emergency contact numbers, 09164859299 and 09154293464.
Background on Ogun Baby Factory Cases
Baby factories, illegal facilities where women, often lured or coerced, are held to give birth to children later sold into illicit adoption or trafficking networks, remain a recurring problem across parts of southern Nigeria. This latest Ogun baby factory bust adds to a string of similar raids by security agencies in states including Lagos, Anambra, Imo and Ogun in recent years.
(Punch)
