The Abia State Police Command has uncovered a baby factory in Aba, rescuing 16 pregnant inmates and eight children following a tip-off from locals.
The operation, led by the Rapid Response Squad, apprehended individuals involved, including a pregnant facilitator named Onyinyechi and another, Ekpene.
The RRS operative said, “Yesterday night, we decided to visit the place, a four-story building with 10 flats and another adjacent building in the same compound.
“We were able to capture 16 of them, all pregnant. One of the facilitators, Onyinyechi, was also pregnant and another, Ekpene (male) who lives in the compound was also arrested and eight children were recovered.”
The operative said they were still hunting for other occupants, while the investigation has commenced, adding, “We are tracking them”.
The Commissioner for Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation,Mrs. Ngozi Felix, represented by her Permanent Secretary, Mrs. Ogechi Oguama, expressed relief on International Women’s Day, vowing to provide proper custody during the investigation.
, “Today, we are celebrating the International Women’s Day, we are receiving back women ‘social mothers’ on their path to destruction.”
The state governor’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ferdinand Ekeoma, praised the police and security agencies for their dedication and professionalism in addressing such issues.
“The truth is that if they have not shown professionalism and commitment in ensuring that sanity is ensured, maybe, the discovery may not have been made. The police in the state determined that whoever is involved in the illicit activity must be brought to justice and needs the support of the public through credible information.
“We as a government are committed to ensuring that peace, security and normalcy are restored in our state. The Ministry of Women Affairs in collaboration with the office of the First Lady will do everything humanly possible to ensure that those girls are protected and properly taken care of, while we will give the necessary support to our security agencies, especially the police to ensure that whoever is involved are properly prosecuted,” he said.
Ekeoma appealed to all that “this is not our culture and we are not known for this”. He also appealed to the parents to discourage their children from being involved “in this kind of activity” and advised those who see it as an avenue to make money that this is an unholy business, immoral, unacceptable and anti-society”.
Majority of the “Social Women” (inmates) attributed their going there as a result of being abandoned by their parents.
