The Lagos State Police Command has uncovered a syndicate that specialises in using sick babies to beg for alms in order to enrich themselves in the metropolis.
Although the leader of the group is at large, the command has arrested six of the suspects.
Explaining their mode of operation, the state police spokesperson, Ngozi Braide, a Deputy Superintendent (DSP), said the suspects specialise in going to remote villages where they look out for children who has serious ailments.
“What they do is that they convince the parents of these babies with fake promises, pledging to give them medical aid in the cities. When they eventually bring the babies to the cities, they use them to beg for money in the streets and enrich themselves without rendering the medical aid as promised. The woman here and her child is a victim. Her baby was diagnosed of cancer of the eye.
”They brought them from Okija, Anambra State, promising to take them to the hospital since August last year. They have been using this two-year-old baby to make money since then without taking her to the hospital as promised. They put the mother of the baby in a hotel and they would carry the baby to the market place to beg for alms from unsuspecting Nigerians,” Braide said.
The police image-maker said the suspects would be charged for child trafficking and other related charges.
The suspects said their principal, who is now on the run, was the brain behind it. The leader of the group, Chukwuka Eze, 24, who hails from Ebonyi State, said he abandoned his cart-pushing business at Mile 12, Lagos for the new one, which he said, had been lucrative.
He said: “After my secondary education, I started pushing cart in Mile 12, Lagos. When I was doing the business I earned lesser than what I earned now. One Mr. Samuel Ependu, who is our director, introduced me into this business. He called to tell me that there was a child who had cancer and that her parents had no money to give her world-class treatment. I joined him in the business and I usually led the group any time went out for work. We usually took Chinasa to market areas, bus stops and traffic snarls to beg for money and Nigerians wouldn’t hesitate to give us money generously.
”My boss lodged us in a hotel. We went out every day to make money for him. Sometimes, we made N32, 000 and other times if the business was too bad, we made N19, 000. After making the money, we usually remitted them to my boss.
Chinasa’s mother, Mrs. Victoria Anako, told The Nation: ”I was in the village when the people came and met my husband. He agreed that I should go with them. Since August when we left, I have been remitting money into my husband’s account and he used the money to buy motorcycle and completed his abandoned building. I did not know that they were bringing us to Lagos for the purpose of money making.
“Immediately we left Okija last year, we were taken to Aba where they used my baby to beg. From Aba, we moved to Uyo, then Umuhia and Calabar. We left Calabar for Abakaliliki and later, Lagos, where the police eventually caught us.
Mrs. Jessinta Nwakaego Nwaolie of the ‘Hands That Care Foundation,’ a non-governmental organisation handed the suspects to the police. Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
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