71-yr old pastor and wife arrested for buying baby for N500,000(Photo)

A 71- year old retired pastor of a pentecostal
church in Abriba, Ohafia Local Government
Area of Abia State, Rev. Chima Egbochiogum,
and his wife, Ugo, have been arrested for an
alleged illegal adoption of a baby.
Commissioner of Police, Joshak Habila, who
paraded the couple in Umuahia, alongside
other suspects in connection with the
incident, alleged they bought a stolen baby.
The police boss said the pastor and his wife
were nabbed following a confession by a
notorious child trafficker who was arrested
last month for human trafficking.
According to him, the child trafficker,
identified simply as Ekwutosi, stole an 11-
month-old baby girl belonging to a 21- year -
old pregnant mother, who he had pretended
to assist.
He said Ekwutosi had approached the young
woman, who had a baby out of wedlock,
with promise that he would secure a job
opportunity for her.
The excited woman was said to have left her
baby in the custody of Ekwotosi when she
went to buy food for her.
“But by the time the mother returned,
Ekwutosi had disappeared with the
baby,” the police commissioner said.
According to Habila, the suspect was later
intercepted by the police at Owerrinta when
he was allegedly trafficking pregnant girls to
Port Harcourt.
He said the suspect confessed to his criminal
activities including the stealing of the 11-
month old baby during interrogations.His
confession led to the arrest of the pastor who
allegedly adopted the stolen baby.
Habila said the suspect sold the baby at the
cost of N500, 000 to the wife of the pastor.
But later in an interview with journalists,
the pastor said he was not aware that the
baby adopted by his wife was a stolen child.
The retired cleric had married his second
wife following the death of his first wife,
who had born children to him.He said he
was innocent of the crime as he thought the
adoption followed due process.
Meanwhile, his second wife, who had yet to
have a baby of her own, decided to adopt a
baby.
According to the woman, she was contacted
by one Maria Mba, who told her that one of
her relations, a teenager, wanted to give out
a baby she had out of wedlock.
She said that the baby was paid for at the
premises of the Federal Medical Centre
Umuahia where it was allegedly delivered to
her. She also claimed that she did not know
that the baby was stolen.
Meanwhile, there was a mild drama when
the notorious trafficker, Ekwutosi said he did
not receive up to N500,000 in the transaction
claiming that the intermediary, Mba short-
changed him.
But Mba said she only kept back N100,000 as
her commission , insisting that she gave
N400,000 to Ekwutosi.
Punch