An Enugu court has jailed a 23-year-old woman for stealing a four-month-old baby from a market, ending a case that lasted nine days.
The Enugu baby stealing case ended with a guilty plea and a recovered child.
An Enugu Magistrate Court sentenced Rejoice Odoh to three years for conspiracy and three years for child stealing, with the sentences to run concurrently.
ValidViewNetwork reports that the effective term is therefore three years, not six.
THE THEFT
Police say the theft happened on 20 October 2026 at about 9 a.m. at Oye-Emene Market in Emene. The suspect allegedly offered to help the baby’s mother carry him while the mother went to buy an item from a nearby shop.
The suspect subsequently switched off her phone. Police allege she conspired with her younger sister, who is still at large, to present the baby to family members in Ubahu, Nkanu East Local Government Area, as her own child.
THE RECOVERY
Detectives from the State Intelligence Department, working with Amechi-Idodo Division and the Neighbourhood Watch Group, arrested Odoh at Idume, Amankanu, Nkanu East, on 24 October at about 10:30 p.m.
They recovered the baby and reunited him with his parents. The speed matters. Child theft cases often turn on the first hours and days.
THE VERDICT
Odoh was arraigned after investigators finished, prosecuted by a police prosecutor from the Command’s Legal Section, and convicted on 29 October after pleading guilty.
The statement came from police spokesperson SP Daniel Ndukwe, and Commissioner of Police Mamman Bitrus Giwa commended the officers, the Neighbourhood Watch members and the prosecuting team.
A NOTE ON SENTENCING
Sentences for child stealing vary by court and facts. This month, an Ekiti High Court sentenced a 37-year-old woman to 14 years in absentia for stealing a newborn from a hospital.
The cases differ in forum and circumstances. Together they show courts taking the offence seriously.
WHAT PARENTS CAN TAKE FROM IT
A busy market is where a child’s safety rests on a mother’s attention for seconds.
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ValidViewNetwork notes that the offer of help in this case came from a stranger. The Enugu baby stealing case also shows what community vigilance can do, since the Neighbourhood Watch helped make the arrest.
The sister’s whereabouts remain unknown, and the Command has not said whether a manhunt is under way.