From Nweke Nweke, Onitsha
Yesterday’s evacuation of fourteen (14) children in Umunna Motherless Babies Home in Onitsha South Local Government Area of Anambra State, turned out to be a middle drama as one of the Deputy Director of Onitsha South, Mrs. Precious Sabina Eziora refused that the children should not be relocated on the ground that the Executive Chairman of the council, Hon. Lady Ann Chukwuneke has not directed her to give credence to such move.
But the Director for Child Development in the Ministry of Women Affairs Awka, Mr. Emeka Ejide who said he was in Onitsha South to move the children from the centre accused to be notorious in child theft cum trafficking in the recent time, said he was at Umunna on the order of the Hon. Commissioner for Women Affairs, Hon. Agabata even as he insisted that the Council boss is bound to take order from the Hon. Commissioner and not the opposite side.
Mrs. Precious Sabina Eziora who accused the Hon. Commissioner of being callous by directing that the children be moved from Umunna to Nigeria Red Cross Community Children, Home, Onitsha in the absence of the Hon. Chairman vowed to challenge the issue in the court of law, noting that their matter will be coming up in court today where according her will unveil the police investigation on the allegation heaped on their heads of the people working the motherless babies home.
The development, which compelled the Director for Child Development to call for police reinforcement adding to some policemen earlier drafted from Central Police Station by the Divisional Police Officer, Mr. Tope Aasugba to assist the ministry on their mission fought like the wounded like to over power more than thirty (30) who stationed themselves in the motherless babies home either for illegal adoption, trafficking or staff of the council.
It would be recalled that Mrs. Eziora had in his confessional statement while in the police confessed that she did pay (150,000) One hundred and fifty thousand Naira to each person that brings a child to her centre. She also made clear in her statement that sending people to go and scout out babies to be nursed in their motherless babies’ home is part of her legitimate duties as a social worker.
Piping into the children’s files submitted by the ant battling elephant, it was discovered that they had sixteen children against the fourteen she claimed and when asked to comment, she then said that the rest two children are in one of the special schools in the State as boarding student.
247ureports gathered that Anambra State police Commissioner, Mr. Gwary had during press briefing in Awka few days now said that Umunna Motherless Babies Home was housing twenty-four children, noting that four has been discharged from the home. By such statement, the managers of the home were expected to hand twenty children over to the ministry for onward relocating to Nigeria Red Cross community Children’s Home Onitsha.
Statistics gotten by 247ureports revealed that fourteen children instead of twenty were   handed over to the ministry and if the statement of the 1st policeman in the state holds any weight, it all means that eleven children are still in the hands of Mrs. Precious Sabina Eziora and her employers, Onitsha South Local Government Area.
Addressing journalists at the venue after the evacuation of the vulnerable children, Director for Child Development in the Ministry of Women Affairs Awka, Mr. Emeka Ejide said the ministry was compelled to react because Umunna Motherless Babies’ Home has turned and worked on the back page of the Child Rights Act.
“We are here to relocate these vulnerable children as directed by the Hon. Commissioner for Women Affairs, this is as a result of the latest development, you see, just late last year, a child got missing from this home, nothing has been heard of that child and today, we are talking about traffickers using the same home as their point of contact. That act is barbaric, it is a sin against God and man and we cannot fold our hands whereas the lives of the children in Umunna are not garneted” He said.
Urging media practitioners to collaborate with law enforcement agents in AnambraState to work in synergy in protecting the rights of every child, Mr. Ejide applauded the Police Divisional Officers of Okpoko and Central Police Station, CSP Emeka Ugwu and SP Tope Aasugba respectively for their relentless efforts in waging war against child traffickers in the State.
Reacting while receiving the children, Anambra State Chairman of Nigeria Red Cross Society, Prof. Emeka Katchy assured that the children are in the safe hands. He stated it that his organization is going to make sure that the children will never be in want even as he calls on the philanthropists and other concerned Nigerians to come and show the unfortunate children love and care.
Prof. Katchy who is also the Chairman of Nigeria Red Cross Society in the entire South East zone described the act credited to Umunna Motherless Babies Home as a dirty story. He warned Nigeria women especially the Igbos to shun the act of modern slave trade called adoption. The Red Cross boss further called on the Christian communities to join the crusade against child trafficking and plant such crusade in the hearts of their members.
“It time the Igbo nation will stand tall to condemn the act of modern salve trade, it is not part of the Igbo culture to adopt a baby, it is not a welcome development but because the grater percentage of our women are lazy to bear children, some of them during their youth age has aborted all the babies in their womb, what they live to do at their later age is to engage in modern salve trade not minding that the adverse effect is more than child adoption” He ended.
247ureports visit to Onitsha South Local Government Area aimed at sampling the opinion of the Council boss hit brick walls as she is said to have travelled to Abuja in company of the wife of the Governor of Anambra State.
