The Abia State Police Command has arrested four suspects over the alleged theft and sale of a four-day-old baby belonging to a mentally challenged woman.
The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Maureen Chinaka, disclosed this in a statement on Monday.
The suspects were identified as Gladys Nathaniel, 48; Victor Udochukwu, 47; Chijioke Obunwa, 59; and Onyeonoro Chinwe, 43.
Chinaka said operatives of the Violent Crimes Response Unit and the Rapid Response Unit, Obehie, arrested the suspects on September 16, 2026, following what she described as “credible and actionable intelligence.”
She said preliminary investigations indicated that the suspects allegedly conspired to take the four-day-old baby from its mother before selling the infant to another person.
“The suspects allegedly conspired to steal a four-day-old baby from her mentally unstable mother and subsequently sold the infant to another person,” the statement read.
According to the PPRO, the police subsequently rescued both the baby and the mother.
She said the mother had been released to her family for proper care and medical attention, while the baby was handed over to the Ministry of Women Affairs for protective custody.
Chinaka added that the suspects were being detained at the State Criminal Investigation Department as investigations continued.
She said the suspects would be charged to court after the completion of the investigation.
The Commissioner of Police, Wilfred Afolabi, reaffirmed the command’s commitment to protecting vulnerable persons and ensuring that anyone found responsible for such offences was brought to justice.
The development comes weeks after it was reported that the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons sealed a residential apartment in Elelenwo, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, over allegations that it was being used as an illegal maternity facility by a suspected child-trafficking syndicate.
NAPTIP also arrested the owner of the facility, who was identified as an alleged facilitator in the sale of babies, alongside another staff member.