Ebonyi Family Alleges Police Officer Linked To Sale Of Baby For N25Million Sought Ministry’s Authorisation To Cover Up Crime

A police officer in Ebonyi State, SP Loveth Uche, who is accused of child trafficking, is attempting to cover up the crime by seeking documents from the Ebonyi State Ministry of Women Affairs.

Uche, who is the officer in charge of the Juvenile and Women Centre (JWC), allegedly conspired with other officials to sell a baby boy for N25 million.

The allegations were made by the family of Susannah Nwanneka Nweze, who claimed that she was abducted and taken to a police clinic where she gave birth to the baby boy. The family alleged that Uche and other officials sold the baby without their consent.

On July 1, SaharaReporters reported that the family of Mr Nweze Philip Obasi of Umuobuna Etiti Uburu in the Ohaozara Local Government area, Ebonyi State, had filed a petition against four officers of the Nigeria Police Force and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in the state, over an alleged conspiracy, abduction, child trafficking, unlawful arrest, and compounding felony.

Philip is Susannah’s brother.

The police personnel are identified as SP Loveth Uche, W/Insp. Maureen Otum, Inspector Valentine Akam, and Mrs. Nneka Akam. 

In the petition addressed to the Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Force Criminal Investigation Department, Annexe Enugu, the officers were accused of being involved in the abduction and trafficking of a baby boy born to Susannah.

The family in the petition filed through their solicitors, Nzogbu Kingsley and Abel Ikeduchi Oru, Esquries, of Richbeke & Associates, alleged that their daughter, Susannah Nwanneka Nweze, was abducted by a known Afikpo businessman and taken to an obscure place at the police clinic Abakaliki by W/Inspector Maureen Otum through the directives and instructions of the Officer in-charge of Juvenile and Women Centre (JWC), SP Loveth Uche.

The petitioner alleged that the officers conspired and sold the baby boy for N25 million, giving Susannah, the mother, a token of N700,000 and sent her out with a warning that if she revealed what happened, she would be eliminated.

SaharaReporters gathered that the NSCDC had written to the Commissioner of Police in Ebonyi State, requesting the presence of the officers involved to explain their role in the matter. However, the police commissioner has ignored the request.

Instead, according to sources, SP Uche approached the Ministry of Women and Gender Affairs to obtain a signature for authorisation of the sale of the baby, but the commissioner has refused to sign.

"Unfortunately, for her, the commissioner has refused to sign or validate any document for her to cover up the crime," the source said.

The source added that the Commissioner of Police, CP Anthonia Adaku Uche-Anya, has refused to release the officers involved to the NSCDC.

The family has raised an alarm that Susannah has been brainwashed and threatened with imprisonment if they continue to demand the return of the baby. The family is demanding that the baby be returned to them and that the matter be taken to court.

Philip told SaharaReporters that the NSCDC compelled his sister to alter her original statement. He alleged that the OC (Officer-in-Charge) Legal of the agency dictated a new version to her and tore up the initial one.

He said: "The NSCDC told us that they have written to the Commissioner of Police's office, but she hasn't given them any reply. They said that the only people who have given them a reply are the Ministry of Women Affairs, and the Ministry of Women Affairs is trying to say that they have no hand in the entire matter.

“They said that the woman in charge of JWC, SP Loveth Uche, brought a paper for them to sign, and they refused to sign it because the family member of the said girl has not come to a roundtable discussion to determine if they are willing to give out the child for adoption."

Philip explained that he was aware his sister was pregnant when she left home.

"I didn't know that she was abducted, let alone that she had delivered the baby and the police sold it, until I received a call from NSCDC in Abakaliki," he further explained.

"We didn't file any complaints with the police in Ebonyi; instead, it was the NSCDC. And the last time I went to the NSCDC office, they said they hadn't received any reply from the police. The problem is that they are now manipulating my sister's statement.

"She made a statement initially, and when the O/C JWC heard about it, she now connived with the O/C Legal of NSCDC to change her statement. We were informed that OC Legal, after discussing with the O/C JWC, SP Loveth Uche, came, took my sister out, and dictated another statement for her, tearing her initial statement.

“But her initial statement was what she told me when I visited her on June 19, which formed the basis for our petition to the Force Criminal Investigation Department, Annexe Enugu headquarters.

"Now the woman is even claiming that she has the right to give out her child to anybody she wishes. That's why I told NSCDC that I am not ready to visit their office again; that they should take the matter to court. If the court says that a 37-year-old woman who has a family and is not a lunatic can give birth to a child and decide to sell it out, it will be a judicial precedent. The only thing I am pleading is that they should bring out the baby.

"Even though they want to do business with that baby, the family must be involved to know if we are actually capable of taking care of the baby or not. That is when we start talking about giving out the baby, but for now, they should bring out the baby because we are ready to take care of the baby."

Meanwhile, multiple attempts by SaharaReporters to reach the Ebonyi State Police Command were unsuccessful, as the Command’s spokesperson, DSP Ukandu Joshua, could not be reached.

Similarly, the Public Relations Officer of the NSCDC in Ebonyi State, Emmanuella, who had earlier confirmed the arrest of Susannah and promised to provide updates, has since not answered calls.

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