Husband, wife arrested for stealing 4-month-old baby, other children in Ogun

A husband named Mathew Ugochukwu and his wife, Oluwarankami Ugochukwu, have been apprehended for stealing a four-month-old baby alongside other children in the Mowe area of Ogun State.

DAILY POST learnt that Oluwarankami had gone to visit the mother of the child who was sick and admitted in a clinic in Mowe on Saturday.

She tricked the mother into handing over the child, claiming she would care for the baby while the mother rested. But she absconded with the child.  

When contacted on Wednesday, police spokesperson, DSP Oluseyi Babaseyi, told DAILY POST that upon the information, detectives of the Mowe Division led by the Divisional Police Officer, CSP Folake Afeniforo, immediately mobilized, while motor parks and strategic locations within the area were placed on red alert.

Babaseyi stated that the detectives tracked the duo to their hideout in the Kekere Ekun area of Mowe, where the child was recovered alongside two other children.

He said, “Acting on credible intelligence and sustained surveillance, detectives tracked the husband and wife duo to their hideout at Kekere Ekun area of Mowe on Monday at about 7:55pm, where the stolen child was successfully recovered alongside two other children found in their possession.

“The husband and wife suspects were promptly arrested and taken into police custody.”

Babaseyi disclosed that one of the children recovered had earlier been declared missing in 2024.

He noted that the biological parents of the recovered children, when contacted, identified their children, and the case has been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department, SCID, Eleweran, for further investigation aimed at unraveling the full extent of the syndicate and prosecuting all persons connected to the crime.

Reacting to the incident, the State Commissioner of Police, Bode Ojajuni, commended the swift response, professionalism, and resilience of the officers of Mowe Division, reiterating the command’s commitment towards combating child trafficking, abduction and other violent crimes across the state.