Court remands alleged child trafficker in A/Ibom prison

Isaac Job, Uyo

An uyo Magistrate court presided by Magistrate Effiong Effiong has remanded a middle age woman Miss Adiaesup Okon Etukudoh in prison for alleged child trafficking.

Adiaesup is alleged to be a member of a syndicate of human trafficking gang now at large that specialize in using fake pregnancies and newly born children as a ploy to extort money from top politicians in the state who have shared close relationship with them.

Investigation revealed that Some of the politicians have been subjected to blackmail for fear of public ridiculed in their extra marital affairs and remained enslaved financially by the syndicate.

But the shady deal of Adiaesup was blown open when she attempted to trap another top government aide in her machinations landed her in trouble as police interrogated her to establish how the two children found in her custody allegedly delivered by her in an undisclosed hospital for one top government functionary whose identity was not disclosed by security agents in Uyo.

Our correspondent gathered that after exhaustive investigations, the matter was charged to magistrate court in Uyo by the commissioner of police in a suit no/mu/332 dated 13th May 2019 before Magistrate Effiong A. Effiong.

The magistrate who remanded the suspect in uyo prison had directed that the said children must be brought to the family court in the next adjourned date.

It was learnt that trouble for Adiaesup started when she claimed to be pregnant for a senior aide to Governor Emmanuel and demanded for the sum of N400,000 from the aide for her upkeep.

According to her, upon delivery of the pregnancy, which she described as cryptic pregnancy that could not be detected by scan, She contacted the politician for more money for the welfare of the babies.

Sources disclosed that the politician ignored her request forcing her to cause a stir at the residence of the governor’s aide as she was denied entry into the compound with the twins.

Sensing blackmail and extortion motive, the politician contacted his lawyer who urged the woman to come to zenith bank Uyo with the children and have the bank account opened for their welfare and was arrested as she arrived the bank for the transaction.

Reports gathered from the police sources by our correspondent indicated that the lady upon investigation could not shown any evidence of undergoing antenatal services in any hospital.

To complicate the matter, the suspect told the investigating officers that the doctor who delivered her of the twins died recently, she could not mentioned the name of the late doctor, the nurses or midwives that assisted her or the location of the hospital the delivery took place.

Investigations further revealed that the suspect claimed that due to undisclosed illness, she should not breast feed the children and had delivered the cryptic pregnancy without any surgery.

She also refused to present the children for DNA test alleging that the result will be doctored in favor of the politician whom she accused of impregnating her.

Security sources said available medical reports shows that the suspected woman has never carried pregnancy .

Another confounding issues according to the sources is how a lady with cryptic pregnancy that didn’t show any pregnancy bump could delivery without surgery and allegedly paid a whooping N1.8 Million naira for delivery in a hospital she is yet to disclose to them .

Sources further averred that sensing that the matter have become complicated and may land her daughter in jail for child trafficking, the mother of the suspect Mrs Etukudoh Okon who claimed to be a qualified nurse has asked that the matter be withdrawn from the police and the children be brought to her custody if the alleged father has refused to own up.

Our correspondent gathered that the security officers investigating the matter wants to get to the root of the matter by ensuring that the actual parents of the two children in the middle of the drama are located to testify how their children found their way to the custody of the suspect.

When contacted, the state police public relations officer, SP. Odiko Mcdon said the police have investigated the matter and had charged the suspected child trafficker to court.

“As I am talking to you, we have finished our investigation and hands off the matter, the suspect has been charged to court. Her fate will be decided there, it is no longer within us and I will not comment further on the matter since it is how in court” he concluded.