Stolen Day-Old Baby Recovered By Police In Ekiti,

A day-old baby boy stolen from the Oke-Iyimi Health Centre in Ado-Ekiti on Monday has been recovered by the Ekiti State Police Command, authorities confirmed on Wednesday.

Addressing journalists, Commissioner of Police Joseph Aribo revealed that the child was rescued following a swift investigation triggered by a distress call from the hospital.

Aribo explained that the suspect, identified as Deborah Ayeni, 34, was tracked through a receipt left in a cotton wool pack and CCTV footage from a nearby supermarket, where she had gone after committing the crime.

During interrogation, Deborah confessed that she stole the baby to avoid being abandoned by her fiancé after suffering a miscarriage in March 2025. According to her, the fiancé had traveled to the United Kingdom after their introduction ceremony in 2024 and was unaware of the pregnancy loss.

“I stole the baby because I needed it,” she said. “I lost my pregnancy earlier this year, but I didn’t tell my fiancé. I feared he might leave me if he found out, so I pretended to still be pregnant by stuffing clothes under my dress.”

Deborah explained that she bonded with the baby’s parents on Sunday, speaking Hausa with the mother and gaining their trust. The father, Mustapha Aliyu, had briefly left the child in her care when she took the opportunity to steal the baby around 4:00 a.m. She escaped the scene minutes later on a motorcycle.

Aliyu, 29, expressed shock, saying he never expected such a “dastardly act” from someone who had been so friendly on the day his wife gave birth.

“She claimed she was at the hospital for her own delivery and was joking with us. I thought she was just another patient. I didn’t know she was planning to steal our child,” he said.

He added that Deborah had briefly left the hospital that day, possibly to scout another location, before returning to execute her plan at the Oke-Iyimi Health Centre.

The baby has since been reunited with his parents, while Deborah remains in police custody as investigations continue.