Wednesday, August 17, 2011

A Woman With Seven Miracle Babies Charged For Child Trafficking in Owerri, Imo State. August 17, 2011

A woman With Seven Miracle
Babies had Charged For Child
Trafficking in Owerri
The Imo State Police Command,
on July 12, 2011, arraigned the 7
miracle births alleged mother,
Mrs. Precious Ogbonna. In
Owerri, Chief Magistrate Court
charged her for child
trafficking.
Charged along with her, in suit
number OW/289C/2011 for the
same offence, was 30-year-old
Adangozi Onuigwe.
The charges against the suspects
read: “That you Precious
Ogbonna, Adangozi Onuigwe
and others now at large,
between the 6th day of May
2010 and 2nd day of April 2011,
at Umuelele, Irete, Owerri, in
Owerri Magisterial District, did
conspire with one another to
commit felony to wit: trafficking
in persons and thereby
committed an offence
punishable under Section 516 of
the Criminal Code Cap C38 Laws
of the Federation of Nigeria
2004, as applicable in Imo State.”
The 2 female suspects were
equally accused of intending to
deprive the parents, guardians
or other persons, who had the
lawful care or charge of the
seven children.
They were accused of taking
possession of the said children
forcibly or fraudulently take or
entice away or receive or
harbour the children, thereby
committing an offence
punishable under Section 19(1)
(c) of the Trafficking in Persons
(Prohibition) Law Enforcement
and Administration Act, 2003, as
applicable in Imo State.
The women entered a plea of not
guilty after the charges were
read to them and the Chief
Magistrate ordered that they be
remanded in Federal Prisons,
Owerri.
Before the case was adjourned
to August 17, 2011 the Chief
Magistrate equally ordered that
the case file and its notices be
forwarded to the Director of
Public Prosecution through the
Chief Registrar.
Vanguard recalls that Imo State
Police Command had earlier
mustered “a team of sound
medical doctors from the Federal
Medical Centre, Owerri, to probe
Mrs. Ogbonna’s alleged medical
feat” and several tests had been
conducted on the woman, her
husband and the seven
children.”
An impeccable source in the
Command told Vanguard that
from the tests so far conducted,
there was no proof of a recent
pregnancy, adding that the
woman was not also pregnant at
present.
“Tests have shown that she has
a large fibroid in her womb. Her
virginal hymen is still copious. It
is not possible that she given
birth to that number of children
with the hymen remaining the
way it is,” the police officer said.
The officer disclosed that the
blood group, Rhesus Factor and
genotype of Mrs. Ogbonna and
her husband were “O”, D+ and
AA respectively.
“These were not found in four
of the children. Medical evidence
does not support her claims.
Police was not shown were she
delivered the babies and there is
no proof that she has ever
breast fed any baby before,” the
police officer concluded.
The story about the woman and
her seven babies came to light
when Vanguard published an
interview on the alleged medical
feat and has followed the story
as events unfolded.
To also establish the maternity of
the children, Vanguard
management offered to conduct
a DNA test on the woman and
children, and the samples were
taken last Monday in Owerri for
medical analysis and it is
expected that the result would
be ready in about two weeks. by
Vanguard