BY TIMOTHY AGBOR, OSOGBO
But for the vigilance of some residents of Ayetoro area of Osogbo, the Osun State capital, 66-year-old man, Adebisi Balogun, would have continued to lay claim to the maternity of an allegedly stolen four-month-old baby.
Balogun, who was not known to have delivered a baby recently, was said to have brought a newborn girl home with a claim that it was her child.
The persistent and agonising cry of the baby, however, drew the attention of some of Balogun’s neighbours, who reportedly approached and interrogated her on how she got the baby.
According to one of the residents who accosted the woman, when quizzed, the suspect was incoherent as she allegedly gave conflicting accounts of how she got the baby.
The resident, who did not want her name in print, told The Point that at “Around 5pm (on the fateful day), myself, with a friend, visited an ATM machine located in our area to make some withdrawals. We were standing beside the road due to the long queue. At a point, the woman (Balogun) passed by us.
“She was backing a baby who was crying so loudly and appeared malnourished. Because we knew the woman at our area and we had not seen her with any baby, we decided to ask her, at least, to attend to the crying baby.
“The manner in which the woman (suspect) was attending to the baby was not too okay, so, we decided to question her on the whereabouts of the mother of the baby. This is because looking at the woman’s age; we knew that she, ordinarily, couldn’t have been the mother of the baby. We were not really convinced by her explanations.
“At first, she told us that the baby belonged to her daughter who gave birth at a church. She told other people that she was the one who gave birth to the baby. At this point, some angry youths in our area labelled her a thief and wanted to lynch her. But, we stopped them and invited the police to arrest and investigate her.”
It was gathered that Balogun was taken to Dugbe Police Station in Osogbo for interrogation.
A police source said that the suspect named the baby girl, Esther Awoniyi. When asked about the girl’s father, she took them to Adegboye Awoniyi, a man who claimed to be a prophet of a Cherubim and Seraphim Church in Osogbo.
The police reportedly arrested the 60-year-old cleric, who is suspected to be the woman’s concubine, over alleged conspiracy.
During an interview with our correspondent, Balogun claimed that she bought the baby from some merchants due to her childlessness.
According to her, she was advised to buy a baby when she relayed her predicament and the desire to have her own child to her friend popularly called ‘Iya Tope Ede.’
She alleged that Iya Tope took her to Ore in Ondo State where she bought the baby for N1.4 million.
Balogun, who spoke in Yoruba language, said that she was a charcoal seller.
She said, “Let me confess; the baby is not mine. I don’t have a child. I told my friend, Iya Tope Ede,’ of my childless condition and she promised to help me. She took me to Ore where I bought the baby. I paid N1.4million.
I am sorry. Please, forgive me. I just want to have a child, not that I want to harm her.”
On his part, Awoniyi said in an interview, “I didn’t know anything about the baby and she did not even inform me of it. I am in a romantic relationship with her. She used to attend my church. When the police came to arrest me, they told me that the child was named after me as the father of the baby. That’s a lie. I didn’t know anything about it. She is just a concubine. She named the child without my consent.
“I have never collected money from her. In fact, there was a time she wanted to send some money, about N1.4million into my account but I rejected it because I can’t have such money in my account. I have never made such money in my life. I just pray God will save me from this trouble.”
When dragged before an Osogbo Magistrate’s court recently, Balogun and Awoniyi were charged with conspiracy and theft.
The baby had been taken to an orphanage in Osogbo by the police.
In court, Inspector Adeoye Kayode, police prosecutor, said that Balogun stole the baby sometimes in April, 2021 but the baby was found in her possession on August 26, at about 5pm at Ayetoro area of Osogbo.
The duo were said to have conspired with others now at large to carry out the act. The offence committed are said to be contrary to and punishable under Sections 516, 371(1), and 249(D) of the Criminal Code, Cap 34, Volume II, Laws of Osun State of Nigeria, 2002.
Balogun pleaded guilty while Awoniyi pleaded not guilty to the count of conspiracy.
The defence counsels, Okobe Najite and M.O. Akinwande, urged the court to grant them bail in liberal terms, but the prosecutor objected to the oral bail applications on the ground that the defendants might jump bail as other accomplices were still at large.
He stressed further that releasing the defendants would hamper efforts to arrest the fleeing suspects.
The Magistrate, A. O. Daramola, remanded the duo in Ilesa Correctional Centre and adjourned the matter till October 12 for hearing.
