A pastor at the Divine Yard Deliverance Ministry in
Iyana Iyesi, Ota, Ogun State, Peace Udoh, has been
arrested by the police for allegedly running a baby
factory in the church. The 47-year-old was said to
have sold 64 babies before she was arrested on
Sunday by operatives from the Lagos State Police
Command who acted on a tip-off.
Udoh was apprehended with one Angela Akpan and a
nurse, Mrs. Bukola Ajala, who reportedly assisted in
childbirth at Udoh’s church.
Punch Metro learnt that the pastor usually referred
complicated cases to the nurse, whose clinic – El
Shaddai Hospital – is located a few metres away from
the church.
Our correspondent gathered that Angela’s younger
sister, 17-year-old Goodnews Akpan, recently gave
birth to a child at the clinic.
Angela, who was arrested on Saturday in the Sango
area, was said to have led police operatives on
Sunday to Udoh’s church and Ajala’s clinic, where
they were picked up respectively.
While parading the suspects on Monday at the Lagos
State Police Command headquarters in Ikeja, the
Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni, said
detectives swooped on the syndicate after receiving
intelligence report that Udoh needed a buyer for
Goodnews’ baby.
“The suspects run a baby factory in the Sango Ota
area. We are still working to get 64 other children she
has sold out,” the CP added.
However, the pastor, who hails from Akwa Ibom
State, refuted the allegation, saying she used the
church as a maternity home to assist her pregnant
church members for a token.
She said, “I have been a pastor for 13 years. I only
assisted my church members during childbirth. I take
delivery of 13 to 15 babies every year and I have
handled over 60 cases so far. I don’t sell the babies.
“Whenever I have a complicated case, I refer the
patient to the nurse and we share the money she
collects for the service. Angela brought her sister to
me in July. She gave birth on November 16 at the
nurse’s clinic and she was discharged. I was
surprised when the police came to arrest me
yesterday (Sunday).”
Ajala, the nurse, said she collected between N15,000
and N17,000 for each child delivery, adding that she
didn’t know anything about selling of babies.
The third suspect, Angela, said, “I am from Abak in
Akwa Ibom. I took my sister from our village to the
pastor when her pregnancy was four months. She
was there until she gave birth in November and I
paid N17,000. I didn’t intend to sell her child and I
have never sold any child before.”
Goodnews, a secondary school dropout, told our
correspondent that she was not aware of the plan to
sell her baby. She said she followed Angela to Lagos
to avoid being ridiculed in the village.
“I got pregnant in the school but none of my
boyfriends was willing to take the responsibility for
the pregnancy.
“My mother would not allow me stay with her so I
decided to follow my sister to Lagos,” she added