Over 50 illegal motherless homes found in Onitsha Anambra

Oct 9, 2011 – Over 50 illegal motherless homes found in Onitsha Anambra

Over 51 illegal orphanages were discovered yesterday in Nkpor and Awada in the commercial city of Onitsha, Anambra State.

The discovery followed a raid by the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development in collaboration with the State Police Command.

The task force also foiled the sale of a baby girl with forged court orders.

Six persons suspected of involvement in the planned sale were also arrested and detained.

Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development, Dr Ego Uzoezie, said the surveillance followed an alert by a couple seeking to adopt a baby by going through due process.

The couple, she said, had already paid over N600, 000 to fraudsters before realising the court document presented was forged.

The chief suspect, one Mr. Onuorah, said he was forced into the illicit act to keep body and soul together.

On sighting the task force, 65-year-old Onuorah, a retired Chief Social Officer said, ‘’I am owing up to this crime because I prepared the order .It is a mistake. The document is the previous document we did but they said they wanted local.

“Don’t jail me because I am already an old man. Why did you come with full squad? Take me to Abuja to die. Grace gave me the document through the husband to do an adoption order and my financial benefit is only N20, 000 from Grace.”

‘’As a man with family and who has not been paid since two years, that’s why I am doing some illegal jobs to survive. The Child is from Concord hospital and Maternity Onitsha, then to Crowther Motherless Babies home Onitsha. My offence is the court order for adoption I forged, nothing else please.”

Mrs. Grace Esebameh, a nurse at Crowther Motherless Babies Home through which the Medical Director of Concord Hospital and Maternity, Onitsha, Dr Odili Ossai, allegedly trafficked babies claimed ignorance of the dealings.

She said she only noticed movement of three babies in and out of the Motherless Babies home from the same hospital in three months.

The movements, she said, followed a similar pattern.

She later confessed at the hospital Ossai trafficked babies but denied involvement.

Esebameh said her duty was to keep babies in the home for him. She admitted knowing the couple paid Ossai N380, 000. (The Nation)

Security agents swooped on Concord Hospital and Maternity, Onitsha where four newly delivered teenage mothers were arrested.

The teenage mothers allegedly gave up their new babies for undisclosed amounts of money.

But they claimed their babies died immediately after birth.

The medical doctor escaped arrest by the whiskers.