The Ondo State Police Command on Tuesday said it arrested a man, Wasiu Mamukuyomi, for allegedly conniving with his girlfriend, Temitope Adeniyi, to kidnap his three-month-old baby at the Oke Bola area of Ondo town, Ondo State.

According to the baby’s mother, Mrs Stella Babatunde, the suspect was introduced to her by her husband to learn fashion designing, not knowing that she was his girlfriend.

She claimed that her husband lied to her that the lady was his friend’s wife, which she later discovered to be false.

Babatunde said, “My husband brought the lady (Adeniyi) to me on December 3, 2020 to train her in tailoring. But I later noticed that the lady and my husband usually communicate on the phone whenever we were together in the shop.

“On Saturday, January 2, 2021, the lady came to the shop as usual. After bathing my baby girl that afternoon, she took permission from me to put the baby on her back. I later gave her my ATM card to help me withdraw N3,000 that was transferred to my account by a customer at a nearby PoS stand.

“Since then, she never returned, as she escaped with the newborn baby and my ATM card. After some hours that she did not return with my baby, I put a call to my husband several times to inform him about the incident, but my husband refused to pick my calls.

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“When my husband came back from work, he did not show any concern for the missing baby. It was at that point that we invited the police to arrest him. He was later taken to the Enuowa  Police Station in Ondo, where he confessed that the lady in question was his girlfriend.

“He also confessed that he rented a room apartment for the lady at the Eweje area of Yaba, Ondo, but denied knowing anything about the disappearance of the child.”

The state Police Public Relations Officer, Mr Tee-Leo Ikoro, said the command had arrested the father of the baby and the girlfriend, adding that investigation had commenced into the matter.

“The father of the baby is in our custody, while the baby has been recovered from the suspect alive,” Ikoro stated.