Police Rescued 16 Pregnant Teenagers From Illegal Orphanage Run By Fake Doctor
The Imo State Police Command yesterday rescued 16 pregnant girls aged between 14 to 19 years from an illegal orphanage that operated in the guise of an NGO.
The 'orphanage' was operated by a fake medical doctor, James Ezuma.
Ezuma is currently standing trial for alleged gun running. The NGO named the Ezuma Women and Children Rights Protection Initiative (EWCRPI) was a platform that shields Ezuma's criminal activities from security operatives.
Briefing newsmen, the State Commissioner of Police, Muhammad Musa Katsina, disclosed that the NGO was a baby factory where girls were "encouraged to get pregnant and paid N100,000 on delivery" to give away their babies, who then have been used for purposes "ranging from child trafficking to rituals", Katsina said.
He added that the Command is trying to unravel the whereabouts of a baby that was snatched away from its teenage mother, Nnachi Chinaza, by the suspect who refused to disclose to the Police who the baby was sold to.
"So far he has taken us to Abia state where he said the baby is but we were unable to recover the baby, though investigations are still ongoing, the presumption at the moment is that the baby may have been used for ritual purposes", Katsina said.
He warned parents to watch their teenage girls to protect them from child traffickers and baby factory operators.
Katsina further said that Ezuma was arraigned before an Owerri Chief Magistrate Court in November 2013 for the offence of conspiracy and unlawful possession of firearms.
However, when the police conducted a search on the premises of the purported NGO, "sixteen pregnant girls between the ages of fourteen and nineteen were found; also recovered was an automatic eight loader pump action gun which is a prohibited firearm".
