Woman Pleads Guilty, Admits Stealing, Selling Baby For N30,000 In Rivers

A woman, Joy Olakawogu, has pleaded guilty to a charge of child stealing before a Port Harcourt Magistrate Court in Rivers State.
The woman also admitted that she received N30,000 reward for her first stolen child in 2018.
In a case, PMC/1882C/18: Commissioner of Police Vs Joy Olakawogu, the 1st Defendant further said that she was engaged by another woman, 2nd Defendant, in the crime of child stealing but that luck ran out on her, thereby exposing her first theft in his second attempt at stealing twin babies.
She testified before Chief Magistrate F.N. Amanze in a continued hearing, yesterday, that “I lived at Mile 4. On February 12, 2018, a lady who is my friend, a house-help gave me a baby boy to watch over. I took the baby away. I called the 2nd Defendant who asked me to bring the baby.
“She took me to a place to swear death oath over the matter. She said if I come back for the baby or I report to the police, I will die. I took the oath, she now gave me N30,000. She said she will surprise me.
“She said if I have any other baby, I should bring it for her. Then, on August 13, 2018, at Nkpor village, a woman with twins used to leave her babies in my care.
“On this day, I told her I want to go and buy something. I took the babies. On my way to deliver the babies to the 2nd Defendant, at Akpajo Junction, police arrested me with the babies.
“They took me to Eleme Police Station where the mother of the babies came to carry her twins. The State CID then came for me. The IPO in the case asked me to take them to the 2nd Defendant’s house where they then recovered the first baby I had stolen.”
The court adjourned till January 18 where Joy would continue her evidence on the witness box to enable the court have a full picture of the case and the level of involvement of the 2nd Defendant.
The chief magistrate said that notwithstanding the 1st Defendant’s guilty plea already, the case will continue to enable it dispense justice at the end.

By: Susan Serekara-Nwikhana