The Enugu State Magistrate Court has sentenced 23-year-old Rejoice Odoh, to two concurrent three-year prison terms for stealing a four-month-old baby boy at Oye-Emene Market, Emene, Enugu, on 20th October 2026, at about 9:00 a.m.
Investigation by the police revealed that the suspect, who had previously posed as a customer to the child’s mother, took the baby under the guise of helping to carry him while going to buy an item from a nearby shop, but absconded with him. She later switched off her phone and conspired with her younger sister, who is currently at large, to present the baby to their family members at Ubahu, Nkanu East LGA, as her own child.
Acting on the report and technical intelligence gathered, detectives of the Command’s State Intelligence Department, working with personnel of Amechi-Idodo Police Division and members of the Neighbourhood Watch Group, arrested the suspect and recovered the baby at Idume, Amankanu, Nkanu East LGA, on 24th October 2026, at about 10:30 p.m. The child was subsequently reunited with his parents.
Upon conclusion of the investigation, she was arraigned before the Enugu Magistrate Court and prosecuted by a police prosecutor from the Legal Section. Having pleaded guilty, she was convicted on October 29 and sentenced to three years’ imprisonment for conspiracy and another three years for child stealing, with both sentences to run concurrently.