An Enugu Magistrate Court has sentenced a 23-year-old woman, Rejoice Odoh, to three years’ imprisonment for stealing a four-month-old baby boy at Oye-Emene Market, Emene, Enugu State
In a statement signed by the Police Public Relations Officer of the Enugu State Police Command, SP Daniel Ndukwe, on Thursday, October 29, 2026, the command said Odoh was convicted of conspiracy and child stealing after pleading guilty to the offences.
The police said the incident occurred on October 20, 2026, at about 9 a.m., when the suspect allegedly took the baby under the guise of helping his mother carry him while she went to purchase an item from a nearby shop.
“Investigation revealed that the suspect, who had previously posed as a customer to the child’s mother, took the baby under the guise of helping to carry him while going to buy an item from a nearby shop, but absconded with him,” the statement said.
According to the command, the suspect subsequently switched off her phone and allegedly conspired with her younger sister, who is currently at large, to present the baby to their family members in Ubahu, Nkanu East Local Government Area, as her own child.
The police said detectives from the command’s State Intelligence Department, working with personnel of the Amechi-Idodo Police Division and members of the Neighbourhood Watch Group, arrested Odoh and recovered the baby at Idume, Amankanu, in Nkanu East LGA, on October 24 at about 10:30 p.m.
“The child was subsequently reunited with his parents,” the statement added.
Following the conclusion of investigations, the suspect was arraigned before the Enugu Magistrate Court and prosecuted by a police prosecutor from the command’s Legal Section.
The court convicted her on October 29 after she pleaded guilty, sentencing her to three years’ imprisonment for conspiracy and another three years for child stealing, with both sentences to run concurrently.
The Commissioner of Police, Mamman Bitrus Giwa, commended the officers and other individuals involved in the arrest, recovery of the child and prosecution of the case.
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