Baby stolen from Benue recovered in Onitsha

Police in Benue State yesterday reunited a mother and her three-months-old baby, who was tolen last week.

Daily Trust gathered from the Benue State police command that the baby, Terhile Hgbegha, who was stolen from Makurdi was found in Onitsha in Anambra State by a team of detectives.

The baby’s mother, Mrs. Tsendo Hgbegha, had reported that her son was taken away by her neighbour’s girlfriend.

“Words aren’t enough to describe my joy. I thank God who made it possible for me to recover my baby. I thank the team of policemen who went in search of the baby,” she said.

Mrs. Hgbegha told our correspondent in Makurdi that her baby was sleeping in the room with his nanny at about 8pm penultimate Saturday, while she sat outside the gate of her home with other neighbours when a co-tenant came to inform her of the presence of a woman near her home.

“When I rushed to my door, I only met my nanny with a cup of water in her hand. On inquiring about my baby, she told me that my neighbour’s girlfriend collected the baby from her and asked her to go and get water. I immediately rushed to my neighbour, Amos, who was also sitting with us at the gate and asked him to produce my baby. I had earlier heard that he was harbouring a woman who came all the way from the eastern part of the country to adopt a baby boy, a request which was not granted by the Ministry of Women Affairs. The rest now is history but it was a hellish experience,” she said.

Speaking on the incident, spokesperson of the police command, Daniel Ezeala, said the woman who stole the baby was arrested alongside her lover, Amos, and that they are currently helping the police with the investigation. He added that the duo would soon be charged to court for human trafficking.