“She was arrested sometimes last year but to our surprise, she spent less than 24 hours as guest of the police at the State Criminal investigative Department in Akure (the state’s capital) before she bought her freedom.
"We learnt she’s so powerful and well connected to Abuja and we hope this arrest will not just be like the previous ones.”
The baby factory, owned by 45-year-old Happiness Ogundeji , a.ka Mama
Phorta, was busted by the anti-trafficking detectives of Nigerian
Immigration Service after months of surveillance and intelligence
gathering.
Occupants of the house where the illegal business was being run, were caught unawares by security agents who invaded their premises in the early hours of Wednesday, where five young pregnant women, between the ages of 20 and 25 were arrested with 19 other suspects, which include five nursing mothers, five babies and the eight men who impregnated them.
Also, a 66-year-old man, Aliu Ojo, who claimed to be a retired Assistant Commissioner of Police, was among the 24 suspects arrested by the security agents.
He is alleged to be the kingpin in the operation of the factory. While parading the suspects, the Comptroller of the NIS, Ondo State, Musa Al-Hassan said the command had been on the trail of the owner of the baby factory for a long time after receiving information from the Comptroller-General of the NIS in Abuja, who directed the state command to work on a circular that emanated from Calabar, Cross River State.
The effort of the squad which was led by the Head of Anti-Human Trafficking and Child Labour Section of the command, Mrs Abiola Obisesan, paid off after several months of surveillance with the discovery of a twoflat building which belongs to Happiness and was being used for the operation at Ilu-Titun.
Though ‘Mama Portha’ as Happiness is called, claimed to be a native doctor who specialises in treatment of pregnant women, she said the place was established by her with licence to operate as natural herbal centre.
But the comptroller revealed that the kingpin was a notorious “baby maker” who spread her tentacles within the state and across the country’s border.
Happiness, according to the NIS commander, had been doing the illicit business in conjunction with a Cameroonian who serves as a link man for a very long time, saying the suspects changed her base to keep herself away from the eagle eye of NAPTIP.
But reacting to her arrest, Happiness described the invasion as trampling on her private life. She said:
Occupants of the house where the illegal business was being run, were caught unawares by security agents who invaded their premises in the early hours of Wednesday, where five young pregnant women, between the ages of 20 and 25 were arrested with 19 other suspects, which include five nursing mothers, five babies and the eight men who impregnated them.
Also, a 66-year-old man, Aliu Ojo, who claimed to be a retired Assistant Commissioner of Police, was among the 24 suspects arrested by the security agents.
He is alleged to be the kingpin in the operation of the factory. While parading the suspects, the Comptroller of the NIS, Ondo State, Musa Al-Hassan said the command had been on the trail of the owner of the baby factory for a long time after receiving information from the Comptroller-General of the NIS in Abuja, who directed the state command to work on a circular that emanated from Calabar, Cross River State.
The effort of the squad which was led by the Head of Anti-Human Trafficking and Child Labour Section of the command, Mrs Abiola Obisesan, paid off after several months of surveillance with the discovery of a twoflat building which belongs to Happiness and was being used for the operation at Ilu-Titun.
Though ‘Mama Portha’ as Happiness is called, claimed to be a native doctor who specialises in treatment of pregnant women, she said the place was established by her with licence to operate as natural herbal centre.
But the comptroller revealed that the kingpin was a notorious “baby maker” who spread her tentacles within the state and across the country’s border.
Happiness, according to the NIS commander, had been doing the illicit business in conjunction with a Cameroonian who serves as a link man for a very long time, saying the suspects changed her base to keep herself away from the eagle eye of NAPTIP.
But reacting to her arrest, Happiness described the invasion as trampling on her private life. She said:
“I don’t know my offence. I am a business woman. I am operating a
natural herbal clinic. I was in my clinic when the people came to arrest
me along with other occupants in the house. Some of the people that
were arrested are my visitors.”
One of the women paraded, Blessing Anike, who claimed to be 21 years old from Abia State and who was carrying a two-week-old baby, said she was brought to the house by her husband, Godswill, who told her that the woman is a doctor. Another pregnant lady, Chinazo Miracle, 20, said she is from Imo State and a secondary school leaver. She claimed she was brought to the house for treatment.
One of the women paraded, Blessing Anike, who claimed to be 21 years old from Abia State and who was carrying a two-week-old baby, said she was brought to the house by her husband, Godswill, who told her that the woman is a doctor. Another pregnant lady, Chinazo Miracle, 20, said she is from Imo State and a secondary school leaver. She claimed she was brought to the house for treatment.
Another another pregnant girl, who simply gave her name as ‘Grace’,
claimed to be a student of Lagos State University (LASU) and that she is
engaged to the son of the baby factory owner.
According to the authorities, investigation continues.
No comments:
Post a Comment