The police in Ogun and Borno states have recorded separate breakthroughs in their fight against crime, with the Ogun State Command uncovering an alleged baby factory in Mowe and the Borno Command arresting two teenagers suspected of burgling a provision shop in Maiduguri.

In Ogun, police operatives rescued two pregnant women and four children and arrested six suspects during an intelligence-led raid on a suspected human trafficking facility in Mowe.

The operation, conducted at about 8:00 a.m. on Monday, August 24, followed sustained intelligence on the activities of a suspected trafficking syndicate operating on Toluwalase Street, Abaren Village, via Gbarinmole, a suburb of Mowe.

The Deputy Police Public Relations Officer of the command, ASP Oluborode Opeyemi, disclosed this in a statement yesterday in Abeokuta.

According to Opeyemi, preliminary investigations indicated that the facility had allegedly been used for human trafficking and illegal adoption activities over a period of time.

He said the rescued pregnant women were identified as 23-year-old Ilesanmi Foluke, who was seven months pregnant, and 20-year-old Ejekwa Melody, who was eight months pregnant.

The four children rescued from the premises comprised two boys and two girls.

The suspects arrested were identified as Florence Glory Ogbona, 58; Magdalene Julius, 63; Chidike Egwuonwu, 40; Onyechu Chidike, 35; Stephen Ogbona, 39; and Oseni Kusamotu Idaya, an attending nurse.

Opeyemi said follow-up investigations also led operatives to a hospital within the Mowe axis, where another suspected victim, 26-year-old Blessing Bright Effiong, had given birth to a baby boy on August 20.

He said Effiong was still receiving treatment at the hospital when the police arrived, but the whereabouts of her newborn remained unknown.

The attending nurse was subsequently arrested as investigators intensified efforts to locate the missing baby and determine the circumstances surrounding its disappearance.

Opeyemi said the case had been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Eleweran, Abeokuta, for further investigation.

He added that the investigation would establish the full extent of the alleged syndicate’s activities, locate the missing newborn and determine the roles played by each of the suspects.

In Borno State, the police arrested two 17-year-old boys suspected of breaking into a provision shop in the Gwange Zuwa Dawuri area of Maiduguri and recovered N430,000 believed to be part of the stolen cash.

The suspects, identified as Hussain Mohammed and Rabiu Yusuf, were arrested following a report by the shop owner, Mohammed Bello Umar, who said his shop was burgled in the early hours of August 20.

Umar reportedly told the police on August 23 that about N2 million in cash, provisions and other items were stolen during the incident.

The command’s spokesperson, ASP Nahum Daso, said operatives of the State Intelligence Department (SID) acted on credible intelligence and arrested the two suspects, who are residents of the area.

Daso said the suspects allegedly confessed to the burglary during questioning and mentioned two other accomplices, identified as Kalifa and Pato, who are currently at large.

He said N430,000 had so far been recovered, while efforts were ongoing to arrest the two other suspects.