Mother sells three-day-old baby for N260,000

The Akwa Ibom State Police Command has arrested
a nursing mother, Imaobong Udoh, for allegedly
selling her three-day old baby girl.
Also arrested along with Imaobong were four
persons for allegedly participating in the theft of the
baby.
They are the buyer, Mrs. Regina James; her
husband, Mfon James; the traditional birth attendant
who delivered the baby, Mrs. Comfort Henry; and
Mr Emmanuel Okon, a homeopathic doctor, who
arranged the sale.
Commissioner of Police, Mr. Umar Gwadabe, said in
Uyo on Monday that the father of the baby had
reported the theft to the police, leading to the arrest
of the suspects.
Gwadabe said, “On March 3, 2014, a case of child
stealing was reported by Mr. Eteobong James, of
No. 33 Urua Ekpa Road, Itu Local Governmnet Area,
to the police, where a three-day-old baby girl was
sold for N260, 000.
“Based on the report, the suspects were arrested.
“Mr Emmanuel Etim Okon, was the one that
arranged the infamous deal and personally
conveyed the baby from the point of delivery at
Nna-Enin in Uruan Local Government Area to the
buyers at No. 37 Church Road, Uyo.”
The police boss explained that Regina allegedly paid
N150,000 to the mother of the baby and N110,000
to Okon, the homeopathic doctor, for his services.
The commissioner stated that the accused would
soon be arraigned in court and warned child thieves
to steer clear of the state.
He explained that the state would not be conducive
for their illicit trade.
Husband of the buyer, James, who spoke with
PUNCH METRO said when his wife told him she
was pregnant, he gave her money for ante-natal
care, but was surprised to hear that she bought the
baby.
He said, “l am a trader. My wife, Regina, told me
she was pregnant and I gave her money for ante-
natal. One day, she told me she was in labour and
later informed me that she had been delivered of a
baby girl.
“I did not know she bought the baby since she has
given birth to four children, though three died.”
However, the homeopathic doctor said Regina
brought the mother of the baby, Imaobong, to him so
that he could take care of her during ante-natal.
He said Regina had explained to him that the father
of the baby was not financially buoyant to take care
of her.
He denied collecting N110,000 from Regina, stating
that he only collected N30,000, which was the cost
of delivery of Imaobong’s baby.
“When Regina brought Imaobong to me, she told me
that the man responsible for the pregnancy was
unable of take care of her.
“The N30,000 I collected from her was for the
upkeep of Imaobong before and during delivery of
the baby. I did not collect N110,000.”

SOURCE: PUNCH NIGERIA

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We won’t attend NGF retreat, says Jang group

Factional Chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum
who is also the Governor of Plateau State, Mr.
Jonah Jang has dissociated members of his faction
from the planned retreat being organised by the
Forum under the leadership of the Governor of
Rivers State, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi.
The NGF has scheduled a retreat for March 13 and
14 in Lagos where issues like corruption,
agriculture, education, security and others are to be
discussed by eminent Nigerians and scholars.
Invitations by Amaechi for the event were sent to all
the governors, including the faction being led by
Jang.
However, Jang in a statement released in Abuja
and signed by the Media Officer in charge of his
faction of the NGF, Mr. Kassim Yakubu stated that it
has come to his knowledge that there is a program
in circulation naming its members as participants in
the said retreat.
The statement further described the action as a
cunning attempt to give the retreat credibility
following what he described as “the dismal showing
of the first one held in Sokoto last year.
“They have realised that Nigerians now know that
they are an opposition governors forum and the only
way to get credibility now is to invoke the names of
governors who clearly do not belong to their group
nor share in their vision of turning the Governors
Forum into an anti federal government body.”
He said the first retreat was an anti-Federal
Government and that Nigerians would want the
governors to stick to their primary roles of
governing their states instead of attending retreats.
“The first retreat turned out to be an anti federal
government venting exercise and did not gain any
traction with the general public who want the
governors to stick with their primary functions of
running their states and the objectives of the
Nigeria Governors’ Forum which is to work in
cohesion with all other tiers of government to
deliver needed development to the Nigerian people”,
the Jang group further said.
The statement predicted that the planned retreat
would turn out to be another federal government
bashing get-together where the opposition script
would be acted out.

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Ugandan rights activists challenge anti-gay law

Ugandan rights activists and politicians have filed a
legal challenge to overturn a tough anti-gay law
condemned by Western donors.
The law violated the rights of gay people and
subjected them to “cruel and inhuman punishment”,
they said.
Several cases of “violence and retaliation” have
been reported since President Yoweri Museveni
signed the law last month, the activists added.
Uganda is a deeply conservative society where
many people oppose gay rights.
However, some people are beginning to question
whether punishments proposed in the law are too
harsh, reports BBC Uganda correspondent Catherine
Byaruhanga.
It allows life imprisonment as the penalty for acts of
“aggravated homosexuality” and also criminalises
the “promotion of homosexuality”.
The Civil Society Coalition on Human Rights and
Constitutional Law, which represents about 50
groups, filed the petition in the Constitutional Court,
asking for the law to be annulled.
Ruling party MP Fox Odoi, who is Museveni’s
former legal adviser, was among the lead
petitioners.
He broke ranks with his party by opposing the law
in parliament, and said he did not fear a backlash
from voters in the 2016 election, our reporter says.
“I don’t fear losing an election. There is only one
thing I fear – living in a society that has no room for
minorities. I will not live in a society that doesn’t
respect and protect people who are different from
the majority,” Odoi said.
Prominent Ugandan journalist Andrew Mwenda also
supported the court action.
“This Act not only represents an effort by the
executive and parliament to scapegoat an unpopular
minority for political gain, but we believe it also
violates the highest law of our country,” he said.
Some people known or suspected to be gay had
faced “violence and retaliation” since the law was
signed, the coalition said in a statement, the AFP
news agency reports.
It had documented 10 cases of arrests of people,
and at least three cases of landlords evicting
tenants, the coalition added.
Uganda’s authorities have defended the law, saying
President Museveni wanted “to demonstrate
Uganda’s independence in the face of Western
pressure and provocation”.
The World Bank has postponed a $90m (£54m) loan
to Uganda to improve its health services after the
law was approved.
Several European nations – including Denmark,
Norway, the Netherlands and Sweden – have cut
aid to Uganda to show their opposition to the law.
The sponsor of the law, MP David Bahati, insists
that homosexuality is a “behaviour that can be
learned and can be unlearned”.

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Anenih appeals to South-West PDP on unity

As the battle for the 2015 general elections draws
nearer, the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the
Peoples Democratic Party, Chief Tony Annenih has
appealed to members of the party in the South-
West to unite in order to enhance the chances of the
ruling party.
Apart front this, he noted that reconciliation among
members of the party in the zone was also very
important.
Anenih spoke just as the Secretary to Government
of the Federation, Senator Pius Anyim, said all parts
of the federation had a stake in the continued
stability and political development of the country.
The PDP BoT chairman spoke when he received
executive committee and members of the South
West Network, a pressure group within the ruling
PDP, at his residence in Abuja on Tuesday.
The BoT chairman said it was imperative for the
group to work with elders of the party at the states
and the national levels in order to stem the
dwindling fortunes of the party in the zone.
The former minister of works commended the
initiative of the group and pledged his support for its
determination to ensure victory of the party at the
forthcoming governorship election in Ekiti and Osun
states and other future elections.
He said, “You must brace to remain steadfast
because some other people will try to attack you,
but since your goals are noble and genuine, then
you have my blessing.”
In his remarks, the Chairman of the SWN, Senator
Hosea Agboola, said the group was formed to
redress the sliding relevance of the South-West in
the Nigerian political space, adding that disunity,
continuous bickering and leadership vacuum had
contributed to the maginilisation of the zone.
He said the group was embarking on reconciliation
of leaders and providing the platform to rally round
the South-West members of the PDP to take their
rightful position in the scheme of things.
Agboola , who is also Deputy Chief Whip of the
Senate, commended Anenih for his leadership and
relentless effort to stem the crisis in the party,
adding that a new lease of life was returning to the
party, which had helped the reconciliation process.
When the group visited Anyim, he told the its
members to continue to sensitise the people of the
zone on the need to see themselves as important
segment of the federation and contribute to the
empowerment of the people at the grass-roots
The SGF said, “Your group should look beyond the
elections and contribute to developing the
consciousness of the people towards the
transformation agenda of the present
administration.
“From the calibre of the members, your integrity
and level of achievement, your group possesses the
capacity and credibility to represent the interest of
the South-West.”
Agboola said the group had also visited former
President Olusegun Obasanjo; former Deputy
Chairman of the PDP, Chief Bode George, and Chief
Shuaib Oyedokun.

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