The Abia State Police Command, on Thursday, busted a baby factory in Aba and rescued 16 pregnant inmates and eight children, comprising five males and three females.
While parading the inmates on Friday, an operative of the Rapid Response Squad that led the operation revealed that the rescue of the inmates followed credible information from locals.
“Yesterday night, we decided to visit the place, a four-story building with 10 flats and another adjacent building in the same compound.
“We were able to capture 16 of them, all pregnant. One of the facilitators, Onyinyechi, was also pregnant and another, Ekpene (male) who lives in the compound were also arrested and eight children were recovered,” he said.
The RRS operative said they are still hunting for other occupants, while investigation has commenced.
The state Commissioner for Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Mrs Ngozi Felix, represented by her Permanent Secretary, Mrs Ogechi Oguama, said, “Today, we are celebrating the International Women’s Day; we are receiving back women ‘social mothers’ on their path to destruction.”
She noted that the ministry is collaborating with the office of the wife of the state governor to receive the women, and promised to keep them in good custody while investigation continues.
Similarly, the Special Adviser, Media and Publicity to the governor, Ferdinand Ekeoma, commended the police and other security agencies for the arrest, noting that they have shown commitment and professionalism and this is not the first time they have recorded such a feat.
He said, “The truth is that if they have not shown professionalism and commitment in ensuring that sanity is ensured, maybe, the discovery may not have been made. The police in the state determined that whoever is involved in the illicit activity must be brought to justice and needs the support of the public through credible information.
“We as a government are committed to ensuring that peace, security and normalcy are restored in our state. The Ministry of Women Affairs in collaboration with the office of the First Lady will do everything humanly possible to ensure that those girls are protected and properly taken care of, while we will give the necessary support to our security agencies, especially the police to ensure that whoever is involved are properly prosecuted.”
