A 35-year-old woman, Immaculate Otam, has been arrested by the police for allegedly trying to steal a six-week-old baby at No. 229 Agege Motor Road, Mushin, Lagos State.
The mother of the baby, Naimot Badmus, said she stepped out and left the sleeping baby in the sitting room of her family’s apartment.
She added that some minutes later, she came back to the sitting room and saw a strange woman trying to pick up the baby.
According to her, when the woman saw her, she quickly dropped the baby and tried to sneak out of the apartment.
Badmus stated that she immediately raised the alarm, which attracted neighbours, friends and passers-by, who apprehended the woman.
She said she contacted the police, who dispersed the crowd and took Otam to their station.
Badmus stated, “I just stepped out while the baby was sleeping in the sitting room. As I returned to the sitting room, I saw a woman, who had picked up my boy and was trying to escape with him.
“When she saw me, she became frightened and wanted to escape. But there was no way for her to escape as I called the attention of neighbours, friends and passers-by to the incident. They asked her what brought her to my house, but she didn’t say anything.
“The police did not delay when I called them. They took the woman away for questioning.”
The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, DSP Bala Elkana, confirmed the story, saying a woman reported a case of child theft around 2pm on July 29.
Elkana stated, “One Naimot Badmus of No. 229 Agege Motor Road, Mushin, came to the station and reported that around 2pm on July 29, 2019, she saw one strange woman, who carried her six-week-old baby, Faidol Badmus, who was sleeping in her sitting room.
“The suspect was about to sneak out of the house, but she ran out of luck as she was eventually caught. On the strength of the report, operatives quickly went to the scene, dispersed the crowd and arrested the suspect, who was later identified as Imaculate Otam, 35, with no fixed address.”
Elkana added that investigation showed that the suspect had an intention of stealing the baby for reasons yet to be ascertained.
