Alarmingly, most nursing mothers interviewed by our correspondent recounted their experience with people insisting on giving them a lift upon noticing that they are carrying babies. This week again, in Masaka, a settlement along Abuja-Keffi expressway, another woman stole a nine-month-old baby (see accompanying story on next page).
Said woman had disguised herself as a visitor who arrived late in the night and met her brother out of town. She was subsequently housed for three days by a Good Samaritan and his family, with the hope that her brother would soon return only for her to run away with their baby. This, like the first case, is yet to be unravelled by police as there are few clues to aid them.
Women interviewed by Weekly Trust said the amazing part of the two incidents is the fact that the perpetrators of the acts are all women, who are supposed to wield motherly instinct. Recently, a foreign medium did an extensive research on the increasing phenomenon of child theft in Kano (see main cover story) for ritual purpose.
“What is feared is that these abducted children are potential victims of ritual activities because if the abductors were looking for a child to call their own, they could go to motherless babies’ homes that abound across the country,” Amina Umar, an Abuja housewife said.
Mrs. Umar lamented: “Judging by the record of the Nigerian police to uncover these types of criminal cases, the fates of these unfortunate children hang in the balance. Most observers believe that it his high time parents and wards keep all-round watchful eyes on their children.
