A kidnapping suspect, Funmi Mogbojuri, abducted a day-old child because she liked the baby and wanted to take care of it, police say.

The police disclosed that the 35-year-old suspect abducted the baby in Okitipupa while its mother, Binta Alhassan, was in the bathroom. The baby’s father, Abass Alhassan, reported the case at a police station in the area.

Police spokeswoman Funmilayo Odunlami confirmed the arrest of Ms Mogbojuri to journalists in Akure. She stated that the suspect was nabbed at the Sagamu area of Ogun while christening the abducted baby. 

“The crime was committed in the Okitipupa area of Ondo, and immediately she bolted to Ogun with the baby where she was arrested. After her arrest, she confessed to having absconded with the baby to her husband’s house,” explained. 

The police officer added, “It was also discovered that she had earlier stolen another baby on January 16, 2021, in Okitipupa. She took the child to Igbokoda and gave him to one Lucky and said the child died a few days later.” 

Ms Mogbojuri would soon be arraigned in court, said the police. 

The suspect, however, begged for leniency.

“Truly, I stole the child, and I did that to take good care of the child. I have given birth before, but I never had a child for the husband I am present with,” Ms Mogbojuri stated. “I just like the child; that’s why I abducted the baby because I have not conceived for my present husband.” 

Narrating how her baby was abducted, Mrs Alhassan said she knew the suspect through a neighbour she was dating. 

“That was how we knew her. She came in the evening of the day I put to bed that she was stranded in Okitipupa and had no place to sleep, and I obliged. We allowed her to spend the night in one of the vacant rooms. We even gave her food to eat that night, not knowing that she had a mission,” Mrs Alhassan stated.

The mother of the abducted baby added, “Surprisingly, while on my way from the bathroom the following morning, the woman had disappeared with the baby whom I had not even breastfed then. It was after five days that the police found and arrested her.”