Fake pastor, accomplice arrested as police rescue abducted newborn in Minna.

The Niger State Police Command has arrested a man posing as a clergyman and his alleged accomplice for criminal conspiracy and child abduction following the theft of a four-week-old baby in Minna.

The command’s Public Relations Officer, SP Wasiu Abiodun, disclosed this in a statement issued on Saturday.
According to the police, the incident occurred on July 14 when a report was received at the ‘A’ Division in Minna that a four-week-old baby had been deceitfully taken from the child’s mother near Mobil Roundabout. Acting on the report, detectives launched an investigation and deployed technical intelligence, leading to the arrest of 24-year-old Chidi Johnson, also known as “Yaron Pastor,” in Abdulsalam Quarters.
Police investigations revealed that Johnson allegedly confessed that 22-year-old Zainab Ibrahim, who is from Alagbado Area in Minna but resides in Sokoto State, engaged him to procure a newborn after reportedly suffering a miscarriage. On July 13, Johnson allegedly lured the nursing mother and her baby to Kasuwan-Gwari on the promise that a benefactor wanted to distribute food items and alms. The victims were later directed to an uncompleted building near Mobil Roundabout, where Johnson reportedly gained their trust by offering snacks and drinks before fleeing with the baby through a rear exit on a motorcycle.
The police said Ibrahim was subsequently arrested, while the abducted baby was successfully rescued and reunited with the mother. Both suspects remain in police custody as investigations continue, after which they will be charged to court for prosecution.