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NAPTIP Arrests 6 Over Alleged Baby Factory In Edo

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…Reveals How Suspects Connived With ‘Keke’ Driver To Kill Victim

The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Person (NAPTIP), has arrested six persons allegedly involved in a baby factory in Edo State.

The suspects, it was gathered, were arrested in connection with the alleged sales of two babies delivered at the Grace Maternity Home at Upper Sakponba area of Benin City.

It was gathered that the suspects include Joy Ufunwen Enadeghe, three nurses of grace maternity home as well as the baby’s mother and her boyfriend.

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The Edo State Commander of NAPTIP, Bar Nduka Nwanene, who confirmed the incident said the six suspects including the mother of the babies and her boyfriend have been arrested over the incident.

He said the baby’s mother and her boyfriend petitioned the agency that she met the principal suspect in 2020 when she was pregnant and took her to grace maternity home at Upper Sakpoba for delivery, adding that after delivery, Joy and the Nurse, Okogbuwa Tarah, who delivered her of the baby forcefully took the baby from her and pushed her out of the maternity at night.

READ ALSO: Over 20,000 Nigerians Trapped In Mali – Says NAPTIP

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According to her, she took the baby home and told the husband that she had delivered a baby boy.

“The victim narrated her story to a Keke rider who harboured her before going back to her parents in Nnewi, Anambra state.

He said: “When her parent demanded for the baby, she came back to Benin to meet the Keke man who harboured her instead of going to meet the suspect to demand for her baby. They became friends and relocated from Benin to Aghalokpe, Delta State and were living as husband and wife.”

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Nwanene said the principal suspect who was feeling insecure that the woman might resurface to demand for the baby, asked her to come so that she can open a shop for her.

But when she told her that she was no longer in Benin, the principal suspect then asked her to send her account number to send money for the business of her choice. The victim who was almost due for delivery told her she doesn’t have account, she then ask her to send POS number around her so that she can send the money through the POS.

“She sent the victim N100,000 through the POS, but when she went to withdraw the money, some persons sent by the suspect abducted her with the pregnancy”.

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He said few days after she was brought to Benin, she went into labour and was taken to the same maternity home where she had earlier given birth and was also delivered of a baby boy in April.

He explained that the suspect and the nurse allegedly took the baby away on the guise of taken the baby to a good hospital for jaundice treatment but sold the baby and told her the baby died, adding that on noticing the countenance of the victim, they planned to kill her to conceal the alleged crime.

“The suspects hired a Keke man to kill her at night but the man took pity on her and took her to a hotel where they harboured girls for human trafficking, adding that she escaped when police raided the place and went back to meet the keke man who she has been living with.

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READ ALSO: NAPTIP Releases Names, Photos Of Convicted Rapists Online (SEE PHOTOS)

He said during investigation, the agency discovered that the suspect sold the baby N500,000 in Benin, adding that the nurse gave N150,000 to his accomplice.

The agency also discovered that the supposed victim was being used as baby factory. She was given money after the sales of the babies, she was working together with the principal suspects and was aware that she was being used as baby factory. She gave birth in 2020, 2021 and 2023 but they claimed the 2021 baby died after birth”

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Nwanene added that the supposed victim with her boyfriend kept collecting money from the principal suspect threatening to tell her husband that she was not the mother of his child..

Nwanene said one of the babies has been recovered while the agency is making frantic efforts to recover the second baby, adding that they would be charged to Court.

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Metro

Train Attack: Terrorist Leader Gave Mamu N50m From Ransom — DSS Operative

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A Department of State Services (DSS) investigator has told the Federal High Court in Abuja that Tukur Mamu was offered a N50 million share by Shugaba, the leader of the terrorist group, who attacked the Abuja-Kaduna-bound train in 2022.

The DSS operative, who testified as the 6th prosecution witness (PW-6) in the ongoing terrorism trial of Mamu, the alleged terrorists’ negotiator, told Justice Mohammed Umar while being led in evidence by the DSS lawyer, David Kaswe.

The witness, who gave his testimony behind a witness screen for security reasons, said the group also asked Mamu to teach them how to open a website for their terrorist activities.

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He stated this while interpreting four voice notes played in the courtroom containing the defendant’s telephone interactions with the terrorists who held the abducted train passengers hostage.

The audio recordings were extracted from Mamu’s mobile telephones during interrogation after he was arrested in Egypt and brought back to Nigeria.

The first voice note that played was for the defendant (Mamu) fixing a date for the delivery of the ransom.

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“The second voice note that played for five minutes was the voice of Shugaba, the leader of the terrorist group.

READ ALSO:Terrorism Conviction: Nnamdi Kanu’s Wife Reacts To Husband Sentencing

In the voice note, he was appreciating the defendant’s effort and asked him to remove N50 million for his personal use from a particular tranche of ransom sent to them.

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“The last voice note that played, Baba Adamu, who is their spokesperson, was heard requesting the defendant to help them procure speakers and a public address system for their preaching activities, and the defendant responded that he was going to look into their request.

“They also requested that the defendant teach them how to open a website for their activities,” the witness said.

Mamu was alleged to have convinced the terrorists to discuss ransom payments with individual families of the hostages of the train attack instead of the Chief of Defense Staff Committee set up by the Federal Government for his personal financial gain.

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The defendant was said to have been nominated by the terrorists who attacked the train sometime in March 2022, where scores of passengers were held hostage.

Mamu was alleged to have collected ransoms on behalf of a terror group from families of hostages, confirmed the amount, and facilitated the delivery of the same to them.

The PW-6, while being led in evidence by the prosecuting lawyer, Kaswe, told the court that after Mamu was brought back from Egypt, he submitted his Samsung tablet and two phones to DSS officials.

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READ ALSO:Trump Using FBI To ‘Intimidate’ Congress, US Lawmakers Cry Out

The witness, who said he was part of those who investigated the case, told the court that when the defendant was intercepted in Egypt, he put a call to his in-law, identified as Mubarak Tinja and directed him to move out all his valuables, comprising of cash, cars and other items of values, from his house to a safe location, to avoid detection by security agents.

“The defendant was subsequently arrested in Egypt and returned back to Nigeria, where a team of investigators was on the ground to receive him.

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“A duly endorsed search warrant was executed in his property and office in Kaduna, during which cash, in both local and foreign currencies, vehicles, and other valuables were recovered.

“In compliance with his directive to his in-law, Mubarak Tinja, and the other dependants in the house, some cars and cash were moved out of the house to various locations,” he said.

He said investigators later traced and located some of the items, including about 300,000 US dollars, about seven cars, including a Toyota Camry (Muscle), a Peugeot 5008, a Lexus, a Mercedes E350, and a Hyundai car.

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Vehicle documents relating to the cars were later tendered by the prosecution through the witness, which the court admitted in evidence.

The witness added that when the defendant was brought back to the country, he “handed his Samsung tablet and two of his phones to our exhibit keeper, who sent them to our forensic department for forensic analysis.

READ ALSO:Bandits Claim Kebbi, Niger Abductions, Vow More Attacks On Soldiers, Politicians [VIDEO]

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The outcome of the forensic analysis, which included the voice notes of the conversation between the defendant and the terrorists, was part of the content that was presented to the interrogation team and the items recovered from his home.

“He (the defendant) was subsequently interviewed, during which the content of his phones and other items were presented to him.

“During the interview, the defendant admitted giving instruction to Mubarak to move his belongings from his house.

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“He also admitted communicating with the terrorists, using his voice notes, which were extracted from his two phones and Samsung tablet.”

He added that the defendant also admitted owning a pump-action gun, which was recovered from his house, which he claimed was duly licensed.

The witness, however, told the court that investigators later discovered that the licence expired in December 2021, nine months before he was arrested.

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The DSS operative said about 98 per cent of the conversation on the voice notes is in Hausa Language, some of which were translated to English by him, because there were too many.

READ ALSO:Troops Destroy Bandits’ Camp, Arrest Seven Suspected Cultists In Benue

Kaswe then applied to tender the recorded voice notes stored on compact disk plates and flash drives, which the court admitted, after Mamu’s counsel, Johnson Usman, reserved his objection until the final address.

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The recorded conversations were played in the courtroom.

The witness added that in the course of the investigation, two victims volunteered written statements in which they recounted their experiences.

He said one of the statements was written in English and the other in Hausa.

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He, however, said that the victims, a male and female, were no longer available, because they expressed their unwillingness to attend court to testify because of fear and trauma.

The court admitted the statements of the victims in evidence and marked them as exhibits after it was not opposed by Usman.

The court also admitted in evidence eight statements made to investigators by Mamu and video recordings of the statement-writing sessions.

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Kaswe then informed the court that he would be bringing a formal application for the court to visit where the items recovered from Mamu’s house and office are kept.

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Metro

PHOTOS: Fire Guts Factory In Anambra

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Production machines, office equipment, and other valuables worth billions of naira were on Wednesday razed by a mysterious fire at a factory in Abubor Nnewichi, Nnewi North Local Government Area of Anambra State.

The fire, which sources said started around 5:50 a.m., destroyed goods in the production process and finished products as well as office equipment.

A resident of the area, who identified himself as Obinna Okoye, said the fire took them by surprise as they were still asleep when it started.

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He, however, said firefighters were on around to battle the inferno.

READ ALSO:Fire Ravages Residential Building In Oyo

“The fire service men are still trying to quench the fire. You know how inflammable pampers and tissue papers can be,” he added.

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Confirming the incident, the Commander of Fire Service in charge of Nnewi zone F Machine Parts, Jeremiah Anwuobi, said the fire had been brought under control.

Anwuobi disclosed that his office was alerted by 5:30 a.m. when they rushed to the scene of the incident to fight the fire.

READ ALSO:Fire Guts Section Of Rivers Secretariat

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He, however, said no casualties were recorded, while the cause of the fire was yet to be ascertained.

Reacting to the incident, an Internal Auditor of the company, Chikelu Edwin, described it as a mystery fire.

Edwin said there was no electricity supply at the section where the fire started at the factory, which surprised them.

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Police Stop Egungun Festival In Lagos Community

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The Lagos State Police Command has ordered the suspension of an Egungun festival in Oregun area of the state, earlier fixed for Friday and Saturday.

The command has also arrested suspects linked to the circulation of posters and social media posts warning residents against free movement in the area during the festival.

According to a statement signed on Wednesday by the command’s spokesperson, SP Abimbola Adebisi, the suspects, allegedly acting under the name “Oje Parapo of Oregun,” were apprehended after distributing handbills that restricted people’s freedom of movement, expression, and dignity.

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The police described these actions as capable of inciting fear and disturbing public order.

READ ALSO:JUST IN: Tinubu Orders Withdrawal Of Police Guards From VIPs

“The Commissioner of Police, Lagos State, CP Olohundare Jimoh, has therefore ordered an immediate suspension of the festival scheduled for November 27 and 28, 2025.

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“He warned that the command would not tolerate any activity capable of breaching public peace, threatening safety, or disrupting law and order in the state,” the statement read.

The police vowed that no cultural event or gathering that could heighten tensions or endanger lives would be permitted in the state.

“In a similar incident on November 23, 2025, at Mafoluku in Oshodi under Makinde Division, the police swiftly arrested 12 individuals behind another attempt to incite disorder through circulation of provocative publications.

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READ ALSO:State Police Can No Longer Be Delayed – South-West Governors

All suspects remain under investigation and will be charged upon conclusion of inquiries,” the statement added.

Reiterating the suspension, CP Jimoh directed the Oje Parapo group to desist from any attempt to proceed with the festival, stating that security for such an event could not be guaranteed.

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He condemned the fear already created among residents as unacceptable and warned that anyone attempting to undermine public peace would face the full weight of the law.

The command urged Lagos residents to continue their lawful activities without fear, assuring them of sustained protection of life and property.

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