A 44-year old woman, Mrs. Mercy Uwam, who was arrested in Lagos State while renaming a stolen 2-month old baby, has confessed that she was desperate to have a child after 15 years of marriage and mistakenly bought the child.
P.M.EXPRESS reports that Mrs. Uwam stated this while being interogated after she was arrested and the baby was rescued from her by the Police operatives from the Lagos State Command.
The embattled woman, Mrs. Uwam, revealed that she got married in 2009 without any child and when she realized that she may not be able to bear a child, she tried many orphanages homes to adopt and when it did not work out, she was later introduced to buy the baby in question and did not know that it was a stolen child.
She stated that she had already bought the baby and while she was preparing for the naming ceremony, the Police from the Ikorodu Division of the Lagos State Command stormed her house, arrested her and as well rescued the baby.
The suspect, Mrs. Mercy Uwam, revealed that she bought the baby boy from a woman who bought it from a ‘pastor’ before selling to her, which temporarily brought joy into her marriage but was shortened following her arrest on the renaming ceremony.
However, she regretted the whole thing as she stated that the incident became a disgraceful thing for her and the entire family members on the day the Police came to arrest her and recovered the baby.
“On Friday, August 30, 2024, I decided to have the naming ceremony of the baby boy and I intended to give him Favour, as his Christian name and Chiemerem. I just wanted a small gathering of 10 persons for the naming ceremony.”
“I was cooking for the ceremony when some Policemen came and arrested me. I got married in 2009 without having a child of my own and that was what pushed me to buy the baby boy from the woman who sold it to me not knowing it was a stolen baby.”
“I had visited many motherless babies homes in Anambra, Ogun and Lagos States and was told the list of people waiting to adopt was much. In the process of my search, somebody introduced me to Madam Lauretta, who said she could be of help, but that I needed to pay N50,000 as registration fee.”
“After some months, she called me to say she had a baby boy ready. I took the child, paid her N2.4 million, including the N50,000 for registration.”
“I was happy and took the baby home. There were spots on his body; I bought medicine, food for him.I was taking care of the baby, unknown to me that he was stolen. During the process, I did not seek my husband’s consent when I made the payment. He was once married and has a child. But I needed mine.
I felt he was not interested because he already has his. When he came back, he was not happy with me when he was told I was arrested.”
“It was a pathetic situation, as the situation brought shame upon me and my husband in the community.
It was after I was arrested that people in my community got to know that the baby I called mine was actually not my biological child. I felt embarrassed when Police came to arrest me with the baby.”
“It was after I was arrested that I got to know that I bought the baby two weeks after he was abducted and the mother has been searching for him throughout their community, before it was recovered from me.”
According to the Police, the baby was stolen at Oredola Street, Oko Oba area of Agege, Lagos State, on August 11, 2024, the baby’s mother’s closest neighbour, a 37-year old Glory Sunday, absconded with 12-month-old child, leaving the baby’s mother with emotional trauma.
The prime suspect, Gloria Sunday, alleged that she was convinced by one ‘Pastor’ Peter Udoh, to bring a baby for sale and that was what prompted her.
“I have been living in the same compound with the mother of the baby for two years. On that fateful day, I took the child to church. At the close of service, I took him to Ikene, Ogun State, to ‘Pastor’ Peter’s place.”
“I took the baby boy to church with mine because she has trust in me, that nothing will happen to her child, but she never knew I had another plan for her.
I immediately switched off my phone for her not to reach me and escaped to Akwa Ibom State after giving the baby to the ‘pastor’ who asked me to bring him.”
“The ‘pastor’ bought the baby for N650,000 from me, and I went to my village in Akwa Ibom State, where I was arrested and brought back to Lagos and others were also arrested in connection with the crime.”
“I regret my actions; it was the handiwork of the devil. God should forgive me of my sins present and past ones” Glory Sunday stated.
But ‘Pastor’ Peter Udoh said Mrs. Sunday told him the baby was her late sister’s child and that she could not take care of him.
According to him: “Mrs. Sunday never told me that she stole the child. She said he was her late sister’s baby and that she couldn’t take care of him because she has five children of her own”.
“That was why I told her to come with the baby. I contacted Mrs. Lauretta, who is part of the deal, who bought the baby for N1.450 million.”
For the third suspect, Lauretta Nelson, she admitted to having bought the baby from ‘Pastor’ Udoh and sold him to Mrs. Mercy Uwam for N2.3 million. She admitted also to have realized N900,000 from the sale.
She said: “Pastor and I met at 2nd Rainbow. He said the baby’s mother was dead and his sister, Mrs. Sunday, could not care for him because she is a widow”.
“I noticed that the baby’s hair was improperly cut. When I asked, he said Mrs. Sunday cut the baby’s hair because she didn’t have money to celebrate his one-year birthday. Thereafter, I contacted the buyer, Mrs. Uwam who bought the baby for N2.3 million.”
While Mrs. Uwam’s tears were that of regret and the sad reality of the situation she is enmeshed in, that of the mother of the baby, Mrs. Kemi Shodiya, was of joy and relief
