Posted by By CHIDI NKWOPARA on
SIX persons including the bishop of a pentecostal church, the director of a government agency, a lawyer and his wife have been arrested by the police in Owerri over alleged criminal conspiracy and sale of a three-week old boy at Obinze, near Owerri.
SIX persons including the bishop of a pentecostal church, the director of a government agency, a lawyer and his wife have been arrested by the police in Owerri over alleged criminal conspiracy and sale of a three-week old boy at Obinze, near Owerri.
Others picked up for questioning by the police are an Owerri-based socialite turned evangelist and the young mother of the boy.
The boy was allegedly sold for N60,000. Sunday Vanguard investigation revealed that the alleged buyer (wife of the lawyer), said to have been married for seven years without an issue, is a relation of the bishop. It was gathered that about March this year, the young mother identified as Miss Chioma Ukeje, who was then pregnant, was found wandering in Obinze, and picked up by one Zereuwa, who resided at Umuanunu Junction.
It was not very clear at press time what went wrong along the line before the teenage mother was handed over to the evangelist, but a school of thought had it that "Zereuwa was not finding it very easy to contain the financial burden." The deputy commissioner of Police (DCP), Mr. Joseph Ibi, confirmed the story. He said: "The Command has quizzed about six persons, including the bishop, the director, a lawyer and his wife, the evangelist and the mother of the baby." Answering another question, the DCP promised that all the people involved in the ugly deal would be rounded up and prosecuted. "I would like to tell you that the police is not against foster parenthood. There are legal procedures which must be followed in all cases. Our findings, so far, do not show that these laid down procedures were strictly adhered to in this case and we are determined to dig up all the issues involved, as well as get all the persons connected with this matter", the DCP assured.