Police arrest nurse for selling babies, operating illegal morgue

A retired army nurse, Samuel Adagbo, has been arrested by the operatives of the Inspector-General of Police Intelligence Response Team for selling babies to a politician and operating a mortuary without proper registration.

Adagbo, 73, was arrested alongside three of his accomplices, Faith Desmond, Sunday Chinedu, and Joy Monday.

Monday was said to have sold her baby to Adagbo while Chinedu reportedly facilitated the transactions on three children, two of whom the Adagbo sold to a politician identified simply as Francis.

The IG IRT team also recovered four bodies from the unregistered mortuary at Biri community, Delta State, where Adagbo lives.

Adagbo said: “I was enlisted into the Nigerian Army in 1968 during the civil war and I retired in May 1982. I was with the Nigerian Army Module Nurse School. In 1984, I registered my maternity home under the then Bendel State Ministry of Health. I was operating a clinic and a maternity and I also have a mortuary where I keep dead bodies within the community. The mortuary was not registered but I didn’t know that it was illegal to operate a mortuary without proper registration.

“About three years ago, one Favour brought Joy (Monday) to my house and she told me she was six months pregnant. She gave birth to a male child who died some hours after birth. Her second child is a female child was sold to a woman whose whereabouts I don’t know now.”

Read also: Cybercrime, a major problem for telecoms operators, regulators – NCC

Adagbo also revealed that one Friday introduced Francis to him and he sold two newborns to the politician for N450, 000.

“I collected N300,000 for the first baby from Mr. Francis and the mother took N150, 000 and gave me the remaining amount. I gave Friday who brought the deal N50, 000 while I took N100, 000.

“That same day, Mr. Francis bought another six month-old-baby from me for N150,000 and I gave the mother of the baby N50,000 while I took N100,000,” he added.

The police are currently after Friday and the politician.

The police also recovered a double-barrel gun from Adagbo, which he claimed was registered with the Delta State Police Command.

He said: “I bought the gun for N235,000 at Onitsha Market (Anambra State) and I took it to the Delta State Police Command for registration. It was registered by a police officer called Collins. He was attached to the armoury.

“I was ignorant of all the crimes I committed and I want the police to be merciful. I want God to forgive my sins.”

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now