Teenage Mum Of Newborn Detained With Boyfriend Over Stolen Phone Granted Bail

An 18-year-old mother of two weeks old baby, Miss Beauty Obi, has been granted bail at the Warri Custodial Centre (popularly known as Okere Prison), Delta state.

Chief Judge of Delta State, Hon Justice Tessy Diai extended compassion to her because she gave birth to the baby through caesarian session along with a passionate appeal from the deputy controller (DC) of the centre, Mr. Edo Lucky.

The DC narrated the pathetic situation of the teenage mother and her boyfriend who were admitted at the centre when she was pregnant.

According to him, when Beauty was due for delivery she was taken to the Warri central hospital where she gave birth through caesarian session, but the baby was placed in an incubator for one week before it was reunited with the mother in custody.

Edo further disclosed that for the one week the child spent in the incubator the prison authority was spending N1,000 hourly which, informed his appeal to the Chief Judge to grant her bail to enable her go to her parents for proper care.

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Justice Diai who generously assisted Miss Beauty Obi with the sum of N20,000 granted her bail with certain conditions.

While narrating the circumstances that brought her to the centre, the 18-year-old mother said she was arrested by Police along with her boyfriend when he was about to sell a stolen phone.

She claimed that she was unaware of how her man got the phone, and that she was innocent of the armed robbery charge slammed against her, even as she thanked the Justice Diai for the financial assistance.

Out of the 539 warrants of inmates reviewed, the Chief Judge also discharged five, stating that their release was based on the advice of the Director of Public Prosecutions following findings that they had no case to answer.

Among them were Lofore Difference (37), Innocent Okpaghe (37), Umukoro Kingsley (51) and Chenago Wisdom (29) who were charged with various offences ranging from armed robbery and kidnapping and murder.

She lauded everyone who made the visit successful, especially the Judge of High Court 4 who just started hearing criminal cases and some of them were ready for judgement.

“Those are the kind of encouraging news I like to hear. I thank His Lordship and I thank the prosecutors from the Ministry of Justice who made that possible,” Justice Diai stated.

Earlier in a welcome address, Mr. Edo Lucky had disclosed that as at Monday, June 26, 2023 the centre had a lock up of 1001 comprising of 444 convicts and 557 awaiting trial inmates.

While expressing confidence that the visit of the CJ will lead to the release of deserving inmates, Edo disclosed that the Warri Custodial Centre covers 69 courts in various local government areas of the state.