The Police Special Fraud Unit, Ikoyi,
Lagos State has arrested a couple, Mr. Adenuga and Mrs. Elizabeth Soyibo, for
allegedly attempting to smuggle a set of twins out of Nigeria to the United
States of America.
The Soyibos were arrested by SFU,
following a report from the American Consulate on April 15 2013 that the couple,
who had earlier applied for American visas, claimed to be parents of the
babies- a boy and a girl- who they had no genetic relationship with.
The application was denied on the
basis of the DNA result that revealed that the couple lacked genetic marks
which must be present in the twins if they were the biological parents.
Adenuga, who was on a brief visit to Nigeria, also had his passport seized by
the American consulate.
Adenuga, who claimed to be an
American citizen and his wife, however faulted the report of the American
consulate, insisting that they were the biological parents of the babies.
He said, “My wife had trouble
conceiving children and we were advised to consult one Mrs. Helen Okoro in Port
Harcourt. We were given herbal drugs to take and after several months, my wife
got pregnant. At the time, I had already gone back to the United States.
“When it was time for delivery, she
travelled to Port Harcourt to meet Okoro. She was delivered of twins in Okoro’s
maternity home on November 23 2012; a boy and girl.
“So you can imagine my surprise when
we were told at the embassy that the children had no genetic relationship with
us. That was in Feburary, when we went to the embassy for interview after
Elizabeth’s visa application.
“That DNA test was paid for by me and
I am ready to repeat the test in any other hospital. Those children are mine.”
Corroborating her husband’s claims, a
visibly upset Elizabeth also insisted that the babies that the couple held
during the parade were theirs.
She said, “Just because I wanted to
get pregnant, I paid N1.8m into Okoro’s Skye bank account. I have given the
account number to the police, let them conduct their investigation.”
The Commissioner of Police SFU, Mr.
Tunde Ogunsakin, said, “After the consulate reported the case to us, we began
investigation. SFU detectives travelled to Port Harcourt, in a bid to locate
Okoro and verify Soyibos’ claims that indeed Elizabeth had actually given birth
to the babies.
“However, on getting to Port
Harcourt, Elizabeth told SFU detectives that she could no longer identify or
locate the place and that she had no ante-natal record in any hospital as she
had not attended any. The couple could also not produce anyone else who also
knew about the conception and delivery of the babies.
“Presently Soyibo and Elizabeth are
both on bail; they could not be detained because of the babies. Efforts are
being made to apprehend Okoro and when the investigation has been concluded,
the couple will be charged to court.”
It was learnt that Okoro might have attracted police interest due
to her role in providing babies for couples.
Last month, the Imo State Police
Command arrested three persons for attempting to traffick two babies from
Rivers State. The police had said the original scene of crime was at Uzoma
village, Oyibo Local Government of Rivers State.
One of the suspects, Patience
Aibangbe, claimed to have paid N1.8m to a certain Port Harcourt-based Mrs.
Okoro for herbs which would enable her conceive.
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Society
Humm!!! How on earth would u a woman living in Lagos paid 1.8m to someone in PH jst bcos to concive wen LUTH is there to seek help. Have u not heard if IVF? Which can only cost u 1m to get pregnant? Those babies are not urs, u r jst claiming parentalhood. U shd b charged to court to face d law
ReplyDeleteEeya wat a pity?so touchin I pity dem seriously
ReplyDeleteIt is high time Churches and Mosques that like asking for Geno-type or HIV tests papers from couples that intend to get married, begin to request for DNA test results from couples before any child should be dedicated in any place of worship.
ReplyDeleteAlso Schools must be forced by law to demand for parents and children DNA test results before they are admitted into Nursery or Primary schools.
We must as a Nation be seen to be fighting Child or Children sales in Black Markets across Nigeria.
Dis is real..ther is a place in ph wher u pay a huge amount of mony,dey wl gv u drugs and tell u t̶̲̅o go hme dt u wl take in. Dey wl advice u nt t̶̲̅o visit any hosp for antenatal. I knew ther ws smthin fishy abt d whole thin.dey wl soon reveal d real truth behind dis.
ReplyDeletePlease tell the lady to say the truth to avoid dragging the innocent husband along if actually is innocent. But the woman has a lot of skeletons in her cupboard.
ReplyDeleteWhen re we going to change our attitude in this country nw,I mean for how long re we going to be doing bad things. Pls we should @ list for once safe de good name dis our beloved country,
ReplyDelete