The search for the fruit of the womb has
driven many women to take extreme steps.
When women are unable to conceive and bear
children, the huge psychological toll makes them
fall prey to fraudulent people and patrons of 'baby
factories'.
Desope Cecilia, 61, and Joy Ibe, 43, were
among victims of a midwife, Oby George,
who promised them 'miracle' twins and
triplets respectively.
While the midwife was being paraded before
journalists at the Lagos State Police Command,
Ikeja, on Friday, the victims told their stories, with
faces covered for security reasons.
Cecilia said she had not been able to give her 78-
year-old husband a child since they got married.
She stated, "A lady who knew I had tried to
conceive without success for a long time, told me
about the midwife (George). The lady gave me the
phone number of the woman and I learnt her clinic
is in Port Harcourt.
"When I got there in March 2012, she explained to
me that she would be able to treat me with herbs
and I would get pregnant. I was told to pay N1.5m,
which I paid to her.
"She gave me some herbs to take back to Lagos with
me and take for nine months. I took the herbs
religiously. My tummy began to swell, and my feet
too. Those were the only signs I had that made me
think I was pregnant."
Cecilia explained that George forbade her from
going for any form of ante-natal session or scan.
So, within the nine-month period that her tummy
protruded like that of a pregnant woman, she
visited no hospital.
"The midwife told me not to go for any scan or
ante-natal care. She told me that if I did, they would
not see anything because what I was carrying was a
'miracle' pregnancy," she said.
Asked if she ever saw any sign associated like
lactation during the period, Cecillia said she never
knew it was a fake pregnancy.
"I thought it was normal. Since my belly was
growing bigger and my feet swell up, I thought I
was indeed pregnant," she said.
In her ninth month, Cecilia embarked on her
delivery journey to the house used by George as
clinic for her 'miracle deliveries' in Omiagbo, Port
Harcourt, Rivers State.
When she arrived the house, the midwife prepared
her for delivery with another round of concoctions.
"She also gave me a strange seed. I don't know what
it is called. When I chewed the seeds, I had to go to
the toilet for bowel movement. She also gave me a
drug that made me very tired.
"I was laid on a bed after that. The midwife asked
me to start pushing. I began to push really hard. I
was half-conscious. Suddenly, I heard the cry of a
baby, then another."
Cecilia said she left George's clinic, thinking she
had indeed been blessed with 'miracle twins'.
Police Public Relations Officer, Lagos State
Command, Ngozi Braide, told journalists that on
April 16, 2013, Cecilia took the twins for
immunisation at the Amuwo Odofin Health Centre,
Lagos.
"But the medical officials at the centre were
suspicious that Cecilia was not the biological
mother of the twins. They then alerted the Area A
Police Command. During investigation, she told the
police that they were 'miracle babies'.
"Our men got the address of the midwife and went
to Port Harcourt, where she was arrested.
Investigation still continues to ensure we
apprehend other members of her cartel. The twins
are currently with the SOS Children's Village,
Isolo," Braide said.
The second victim (Ibe) was found in George's
house when the police got there.
In Ibe's case, she wanted triplets. For that, she had
to pay N2.7m to George for the babies.
Like Cecilia, Ibe was referred to George by a friend.
She contacted the midwife few months after Cecilia
did.
"After I went to Port Harcourt to meet the midwife,
I paid the N2.7m and I was given some herbs which
I drank as concoction regularly.
"My belly began to grow and my feet became
swollen too. The midwife told me not to go to the
hospital for scan or any ante-natal. I went to Port
Harcourt to ask when I would be due for delivery.
"She told me I was not due yet. Since it was too late
to go back to Lagos, I slept over at her house. It was
when I was there that police came to arrest her."
No one could have doubted that both Ibe and
Cecilia were pregnant as both women appeared
with swollen tummies and feet.
George said her business was "helping women who
want to get pregnant."
She told journalists, "I am 50 years old. I have been
doing this business for over a year. In the case of
the other woman (Cecilia), I was not the one who
provided the babies.
"Helen Okoro, who introduced her to me, was the
one who brought the twins and we made it look like
she was the one who delivered them. It is true I
collected N1.5m from her and N2.7m from the other
woman.
"The herb I give them was to induce the swollen
tummies and feet. Helen Okoro has run away now."
But George dodged questions as she was being
interviewed by journalists.
When asked about the name of the herbs and seeds
she gave to her customers, she replied, "I don't
know."
Asked how many of such women she had ever
'delivered', she answered, "I cannot remember."
Curiously, Cecilia said she was bleeding like a
freshly delivered mother during her 'delivery'.
George provided a frightening insight into how this
was made possible.
"When we asked her to push, we used a blade to cut
part of her private part, so that she would bleed,"
she said.
George denied knowledge of where the babies given
to Cecilia came from. She said Okoro was
responsible for that part of the deal.
This case is coming on the heels of the recent
discovery of some baby factories in Abia and Enugu
recently.
The police have yet to confirm if the babies
involved in this case were bought from one of such
factories.
