Court recovers six-month-old stolen baby

A Lagos Magistrate’s Court sitting in Ajegunle, Apapa, has recovered a six-month-old baby allegedly stolen by one Charles Isiobor.

The court subsequently freed Isiobor after it was established that the child had been reunited with his mother.

The child, who was identified simply as Lifted, was reportedly stolen on January 4, while his mother, Rita Innocent, a resident of the Iba area of the state, went out to buy something.

Isiobor was said to have connived with an accomplice, who was still at large, to steal the baby.

It was learnt that Isiobor’s brother had dated Innocent before leaving the country for abroad. She was said to have got pregnant during the period, resulting in Lifted’s birth.

Our correspondent also gathered that the defendant committed the alleged crime on the claim that the woman was wayward.

It was learnt that Isiobor had denied the knowledge of the child’s whereabouts until he was arraigned by the police before a magistrate, Mrs. O.I. Adelaja, on five counts bordering on stealing.

The magistrate, after admitting him to bail, ordered that the baby be produced in the court before the adjourned date.

The charges read in part, “That you, Charles Isiobor, of Olayemi Street, Iba New Site, and one other at large, on January 4, 2014, in the Apapa Magisterial District, did conspire among yourselves to commit felony to wit; stealing of a six-month-old child.

“That you, and one other now at large, on the same date, time and place, in the aforementioned magisterial district, did steal Lifted, the son of one Rita Innocent.

“That you, and one other at large, on the same date, time and place, did unlawfully refuse to disclose information concerning the whereabouts of the stolen baby belonging to Rita Innocent, which you actually know and thereby committed an offence punishable Under Section 98 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State of Nigeria, 2011.

The defendant, who was admitted to bail in the sum of N200,000 with a surety, was freed on Monday by Adelaja following the report to the court that the child had been reunited with his mother.

SOURCE: PUNCH