The Anambra State Police Command on Thursday paraded a 29-year old woman from Ebonyi state, Chidimma Favour Okorie, and two medical doctor accomplices for child trafficking.
The doctors were Emmanuel Tobechukwu and Cosmos Ugorji.
Chidimma said she had sold two children since she was introduced into the “business” by a woman she identified as an evangelist.
She said, “I sold the two children at N50, 000 each. I’m pregnant and the madam said when I deliver my baby she would buy it for N100, 000.
“I have five children but I’m not married, and I have not sold any of my children, but I have sold two children, starting with the child of a pastor that I first stole. I’m pregnant and I have agreed to sell it to madam for N100,000 when I will deliver of the baby.”
She said the medical doctors were helping her in the trafficking because they had ready market through a nurse that was still at large.
She said, “Madam (Evangelist) brought three of us(girls) from Ebonyi to Anambra state and took us to a shrine in Asaba where she collected our blood for voodoo so that we will not reveal to anybody the type of business we do”.
She insisted that the two medical doctors aided her in the trafficking of the two children.
Speaking Dr Ugorji said he had not seen Chidimma before and he had not done any transaction with her.
Ugorji who said his hospital was located at Awada, Obosi, near Onitsha said the nurse, now at large, who Chidmma allegedly named as his accomplice in child trafficking only came to his hospital to conduct blood sample tests in his laboratory.
He said, “I have not done anything again with the nurse blood sample test and I don’t know this girl (Chidimma) because I have not seen her before. I was surprised to see the police storm my hospital yesterday (Wednesday) and was talking about child trafficking and today they brought us here.”
For his part, Dr Tobechukwu, who said his hospital was at Nkpor, near Onitsha, said a woman brought Chidimma to his hospital for blood test.
“This woman (Chidimma) has a medical condition, which I won’t want to discuss here. She was brought by one woman, who said she was a nurse. I didn’t document their addresses because we did not do any treatment. What we did was blood test and they left.
“ I’m from Enugu said and I’m working in somebody’s hospital at Nkpor. I have nothing to do with child trafficking.
Parading the suspects at the Anambra Police command headquarters at Amawbia, the Police Public Relations officer, Nkeiru Nwode said the suspects were arrested on Wednesday after a tip off.
She said Chidimma had come to Idoma village in Umuoji, Idemili North of the state and stolen a four year old boy but luck ran against her as people raised the alarm and she was apprehended.
The PPRO said before the incident Chidimma had stolen a child belonging to a pastor in the state.
Nwode alleged that the doctors were accomplices who would link the traffickers to ready markets.
She said two of the accomplices, a nurse and a female evangelist, whose names were not given at of press, were still at large.
