A 23-year-old woman, Rejoice Odoh, has been sentenced to prison for conspiring to steal a four-month-old baby boy at Oye-Emene Market in Emene, Enugu State.
The Enugu Magistrate Court handed Odoh two concurrent three-year prison terms after she pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy and child stealing.
According to a statement released on Thursday by the Enugu State Police Command’s spokesperson, Daniel Ndukwe, the incident occurred on 20 October 2026 at about 9:00 a.m.
Investigations revealed that the suspect had previously posed as a customer to the child’s mother before snatching the baby. On the day of the incident, she took the infant under the pretence of helping to carry him while going to buy an item from a nearby shop — but fled with the child instead.
She later switched off her mobile phone and conspired with her younger sister, who remains at large, to present the baby to family members at Ubahu in Nkanu East Local Government Area as her own child.
“Acting on the report and technical intelligence gathered, detectives of the Command’s State Intelligence Department, working with personnel of Amechi-Idodo Police Division and members of the Neighbourhood Watch Group, arrested the suspect and recovered the baby at Idume, Amankanu, Nkanu East LGA, on 24 October 2026, at about 10:30 p.m. The child was subsequently reunited with his parents,” Mr Ndukwe said.
He added that upon the conclusion of investigations, the suspect was arraigned before the Enugu Magistrate Court and prosecuted by a police prosecutor from the legal section.
“Having pleaded guilty, she was convicted on 29 October 2026, and sentenced to three years’ imprisonment for conspiracy and another three years for child stealing, with both sentences to run concurrently,” Mr Ndukwe disclosed.
The Commissioner of Police, CP Mamman Bitrus Giwa, commended the police personnel, members of the Neighbourhood Watch Group and the prosecuting team for their roles in the suspect’s arrest, the recovery of the child and the securing of the conviction.
The CP also expressed appreciation to the court for the expeditious dispensation of justice, while urging parents and guardians to remain vigilant, prioritise their children’s safety, avoid leaving them in the care of untrusted persons, and promptly report missing-child incidents to the police.
