By lilian ugwu
The Imo State Government has banned all non-governmental organization operating under the platform of motherless babies’ home in the state, after discovering a new baby factory in Owerri, the state’s capital.
The discovery was made by the State Police Command, after it got a tip-off that a teenage pregnant girl gave birth to a baby girl at the motherless babies’ home and few hours after the birth, the baby was stolen and sold out to unknown people by the operator of the illegal orphanage home.
While conducting reporters round the premises of the orphanage home in Egbu road in Owerri, the Imo State Police Commissioner, Mohammed Katsina disclosed that 16 other teenage pregnant girls waiting to deliver were rescued from the motherless babies home.
The operator of the alleged baby factory, Mr James Ezuma, 57, claims he is a medical doctor.
The baby factory with the inscription, “Ezuma Women and Children Right Initiative NGO” beautifully written on the sign post, looks quite different from what the sign post portrays.
The compound fenced round and surrounded with bushes and uncompleted building turned out to be yet another baby factory where teenage pregnant girls are kept throughout their antenatal period and are promised to be given the sum of N100,000 having collected their babies after delivery.
Mr Katsina said that the operators cover was blown open when the command ambush squad gathered intelligence report that one of the teenage girls gave birth and few hours after, the baby was nowhere to be found.
He decried the rate at which most baby factory operators turn deaf ears to child trafficking campaigns by security operatives and the government.
He also urged parents to keep an eye on their teenage girls to ensure that they would not fall prey to mischievous persons in the baby factory trade.
Mr Ezuma, from Ndiokeke Ndiakunwanta in Arondiziogu of Ideato North Local Government Area of the State, insisted that the place was a hospital where he treats pregnant women and that he had been treating the teenage girl, who gave birth recently, since she was one month pregnant.
He was taken into custody by the police till investigations are concluded.
However, the teenage girl, Nnachi Chinaza, 19, from Ebonyi State disclosed that she was directed to the place after she got impregnated and she never wanted to abort the baby.
“I was told that they will take care of my baby after delivery but was never told the baby will be taken away from me”, she explained.
The State Government’s spokesman, Mr Dickson Njemanze, said that the government would come up with stiffer penalties for such offenders.
Some of the items recovered at the premises were 10 exotic cars without registration numbers, automatic eight loader pump action gun and huge amount of money running into millions.
