When
women are unable to conceive and bear children, the huge psychological
toll makes them fall prey to fraudulent people and patrons of ‘baby
factories’.
Desope
Cecilia, 61, and Joy Ibe, 43, were among victims of a midwife, Oby
George, who promised them ‘miracle’ twins and triplets respectively.
Cecilia said she had not been able to give her 78-year-old husband a child since they got married.
She
stated, “A lady who knew I had tried to conceive without success for a
long time, told me about the midwife (George). The lady gave me the
phone number of the woman and I learnt her clinic is in Port Harcourt.
“When
I got there in March 2012, she explained to me that she would be able
to treat me with herbs and I would get pregnant. I was told to pay
N1.5m, which I paid to her.
“She
gave me some herbs to take back to Lagos with me and take for nine
months. I took the herbs religiously. My tummy began to swell, and my
feet too. Those were the only signs I had that made me think I was
pregnant.”
Cecilia explained that George forbade her from going for any form of ante-natal session or scan.
So, within the nine-month period that her tummy protruded like that of a pregnant woman, she visited no hospital.
“The
midwife told me not to go for any scan or ante-natal care. She told me
that if I did, they would not see anything because what I was carrying
was a ‘miracle’ pregnancy,” she said.
Asked
if she ever saw any sign associated like lactation during the period,
Cecillia said she never knew it was a fake pregnancy.
“I thought it was normal. Since my belly was growing bigger and my feet swell up, I thought I was indeed pregnant,” she said.
In
her ninth month, Cecilia embarked on her delivery journey to the house
used by George as clinic for her ‘miracle deliveries’ in Omiagbo, Port
Harcourt, Rivers State.
When she arrived the house, the midwife prepared her for delivery with another round of concoctions.
“She
also gave me a strange seed. I don’t know what it is called. When I
chewed the seeds, I had to go to the toilet for bowel movement. She also
gave me a drug that made me very tired.
“I
was laid on a bed after that. The midwife asked me to start pushing. I
began to push really hard. I was half-conscious. Suddenly, I heard the
cry of a baby, then another.”
Cecilia said she left George’s clinic, thinking she had indeed been blessed with ‘miracle twins’.
Police
Public Relations Officer, Lagos State Command, Ngozi Braide, told
journalists that on April 16, 2013, Cecilia took the twins for
immunisation at the Amuwo Odofin Health Centre, Lagos.
“But
the medical officials at the centre were suspicious that Cecilia was
not the biological mother of the twins. They then alerted the Area A
Police Command. During investigation, she told the police that they were
‘miracle babies’.
“Our
men got the address of the midwife and went to Port Harcourt, where she
was arrested. Investigation still continues to ensure we apprehend
other members of her cartel. The twins are currently with the SOS
Children’s Village, Isolo,” Braide said.
Our correspondent learnt that the second victim (Ibe) was found in George’s house when the police got there.
In Ibe’s case, she wanted triplets. For that, she had to pay N2.7m to George for the babies.
Like Cecilia, Ibe was referred to George by a friend. She contacted the midwife few months after Cecilia did.
“After
I went to Port Harcourt to meet the midwife, I paid the N2.7m and I was
given some herbs which I drank as concoction regularly.
“My
belly began to grow and my feet became swollen too. The midwife told me
not to go to the hospital for scan or any ante-natal. I went to Port
Harcourt to ask when I would be due for delivery.
“She
told me I was not due yet. Since it was too late to go back to Lagos, I
slept over at her house. It was when I was there that police came to
arrest her.”
No one could have doubted that both Ibe and Cecilia were pregnant as both women appeared with swollen tummies and feet.
George said her business was “helping women who want to get pregnant.”
She
told journalists, “I am 50 years old. I have been doing this business
for over a year. In the case of the other woman (Cecilia), I was not the
one who provided the babies.
“Helen
Okoro, who introduced her to me, was the one who brought the twins and
we made it look like she was the one who delivered them. It is true I
collected N1.5m from her and N2.7m from the other woman.
“The herb I give them was to induce the swollen tummies and feet. Helen Okoro has run away now.”
But George dodged questions as she was being interviewed by journalists.
When asked about the name of the herbs and seeds she gave to her customers, she replied, “I don’t know.”
Asked how many of such women she had ever ‘delivered’, she answered, “I cannot remember.”
Curiously, Cecilia said she was bleeding like a freshly delivered mother during her ‘delivery’.
George provided a frightening insight into how this was made possible.
“When we asked her to push, we used a blade to cut part of her private part, so that she would bleed,” she said.
George
denied knowledge of where the babies given to Cecilia came from. She
said Okoro was responsible for that part of the deal.
This case is coming on the heels of the recent discovery of some baby factories in Abia and Enugu recently.
The police have yet to confirm if the babies involved in this case were bought from one of such factories.
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