……Suspect confesses to crime motivated by loneliness
Mrs Joy Temitope, a 49-year-old woman from Ondo State, has been arrested by the Delta State Police for allegedly stealing a two-month-old baby from a 20-year-old mother.
According to the Delta State Police Public Relations Officer, Bright Edafe, Temitope had met the young mother in the Koko area of the state. She befriended her and lured her to another location, where she offered her a drink secretly laced with sedatives.
In the Spokesperson’s revelation, the unsuspecting woman fell asleep after consuming the drink, and when she woke up, her baby was nowhere to be found. She quickly reported the incident to the police, prompting an investigation that eventually led to Temitope’s arrest and the recovery of the child.
In a video shared on X on Monday, Edafe confirmed the details and said Temitope has since confessed to the crime, explaining her motive for the abduction.
He wrote, “The suspect, Mrs Joy Temitope, aged 49 years, lured and deceived a 20-year-old girl who had a two-month-old baby. She drugged the girl and stole her baby somewhere in Koko, Delta State.
“Acting on intelligence-driven policing, the suspect was arrested three months later and the baby boy, who is now five months old, was rescued and reunited with his mother.”
Meanwhile, in an interrogation video that accompanied the statement, the lady whose baby was stolen narrated that, “The incident happened on February 16. I met her at the market, and she said she wanted us to transact a business. She asked me to come and see her place, and on my way to her place, she gave me a drink while we were in the vehicle. I began to feel sleepy after taking the drink.
“On our way, she said her children were not at home, so we should stay at her church member’s store, but the store was locked. That was how I slept off, and when I woke up, I could not find my baby.”
The suspect in her explanation for her act said that her children no longer stay with her because they had grown up and were about to be admitted into the university, and that had caused her to be lonely.
“My name is Temitope. I am 49 years old from Ondo State. The child was recovered from my custody. I gave her the drink when we wanted to eat.
“I stole the child because my children are already grown and are about to be admitted into the university, and I do not have any children around me. I have asked her to let us be family friends,” the suspect narrated.
The suspect is in police custody while the baby has been reunited with the mother.
