Baby Stolen At Birth In Imo, Sold For ₦4.5m Rescued By Police In Lagos

Social media activist, Martin Vincent Otse, popularly called VeryDarkMan (VDM) has announced the rescue of the baby who was stolen at birth in a hospital in Owerri, Imo State, and sold for ₦4.5m, following a coordinated multi-state police operation.

In a post shared on his Facebook page on Thursday, VDM detailed how the case was reported and handled by operatives of the Special Tactical Squad (STS), led by a police officer known as ACP Victor.

“I am happy to announce to everyone that the baby that was stolen from her mom at birth and was sold have been rescued by STS under the leadership of ACP Victor,” he wrote.

According to him, the baby’s mother reported the matter at his office on April 25, 2026.

“The mother of the baby came to my office (MVOI) on the 25th of April 2026… I took her straight to STS police station in Guzape where the matter was tabled to the Commander of STS (ACP Victor),” he said, noting that the officer “took personal interest” and facilitated swift approval of a petition by the Deputy Inspector General at the Force Intelligence Department (FID).

He added that operatives moved in quickly.

“On the 26th April members of STS moved to Imo State to make an arrest which was successful and on the 27th the suspect was brought down to Abuja for further investigations,” he wrote.

VeryDarkMan said the suspect later confessed that the baby had been sold to a lawyer for ₦4.5 million.

“After the confession, the STS police moved… to Lagos State where they apprehended the lawyer and rescued the baby,” he added.

He noted that all parties have since been brought to Abuja, pending the formal handover of the child to the biological mother.

Two days earlier, the activist had shared a video of the child’s mother, identified as Chioma, narrating how the incident unfolded.

Chioma said she is a mother of one who sells nude videos online for between ₦2,000 and ₦5,000 to support her eight-year-old son, claiming her husband lacked the financial means to provide for them.

She explained that she had travelled within Lagos to care for her mother, who has bladder issues, before being persuaded by her mother’s friend, identified as Chinelo, to come to Aba to assist her.

According to her, Chinelo later introduced her to the idea of surrogacy for a couple for ₦2 million. However, she said the arrangement changed, leading to a sexual relationship with the man, after which she became pregnant and delivered a baby.

She claimed a nurse identified as Agatha assisted with the delivery, after which she was paid ₦720,000 in cash.

Chioma said she returned to Lagos the next day, rented an apartment, and told her husband the funds came from a friend abroad. She added that the venture eventually failed and that she later became pregnant for her husband but developed complications.

She said she reached out again to Chinelo for help and was invited back to Aba, where she was allegedly encouraged to sell her unborn baby for ₦3 million.

Chioma said she delivered the baby at a General Hospital in Owerri on April 7, 2026, and contacted Chinelo to bring baby supplies.

She said Chinelo brought the baby things and when she went to the bathroom, Chinelo left the hospital with her baby.

She said she began searching for her child, only to discover ₦1.5 million had been deposited into her bank account.

Chioma added that Chinelo called her and told her she had sold the baby already and nothing could be done about it.