Jude Egwurugwu, proprietor of Feziechi Hospital, Owerre Ebeiri in Orlu
Local Government Area of Imo State got a call from one of his nurses,
Mrs Gloria Ezenwa who informed him that a patrol van carrying some
people was at the hospital. She said that she couldn't identify the
occupants of the vehicle properly – whether they were policemen or
criminals. Then Egwurugwu told her that he would be there soon.
Ezenwa called her boss again, explaining that the visitors said that
they would pick one of the nurses if he did not show up. By the time
he arrived the hospital, the people had made good their threat. They
took Ezenwa away without dropping any note or arrest warrant. They did
not even say where they came from.
Egwurugwu called the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in Orlu who
advised him to go to the police station and ask if they arrested
anybody. So, he went to the police station but they said that they did
not make any such arrest. He went to the Area Command in Orlu and they
said they didn't arrest any nurse. Naturally, that heightened
Egwurugwu's apprehension concerning the identity of the people who
took away the nurse and her safety.
But at about 10.30am, Egwurugwu called Ezenwa's telephone number and
it rang. Then a female voice answered the call and told him that the
nurse could not talk to him now until they get to their office. He
asked where their office was and she switched off the phone. At about
11.00am, the DPO in Orlu entered the office and Egwurugwu went to see
him. He told the doctor that some policemen came from Abakaliki in
Ebonyi State the previous night to arrest some people in Orlu, adding
that it might be the same team that took away his nurse.
The DPO's explanation helped to reduce the tension in the air because
there was the fear that those who took away Ezenwa might be
kidnappers. The puzzle was finally broken when Egwurugwu spoke with
the nurse on phone. She told him that she was in Abakaliki and that
she did not know why they arrested. She called again, saying that her
arrest might be in connection with one Uchechi Okpara, who was
operated upon at Feziechi Hospital on June 30 this year.
Egwurugwu asked Ezenwa if Uchechi and or her mother were there and she
said no. Then a policeman took the phone from Ezenwa and asked
Egwurugwu to come with his wife to the State CID Abakaliki. But the
doctor told the policeman that he could not go to Abakaliki that
because it is was late.
Egwurugwu contacted his lawyer in Orlu who, in turn, called the NBA
chairman, Ebonyi State to confirm if the people that took away his
nurse were genuine policemen. The NBA chairman went to the State CID
and confirmed that they were actually policemen, adding that he saw
Ezenwa in their custody. The lawyer made effort to bail Ezenwa but
didn't succeed.
Broadcast
On Monday, August 19, Egwurugwu set out to Abakaliki in company with
his brother and in-law. During the 7.00am FRCN network news, it was
announced that Feziechi Hospital was being used for baby trafficking
and child stealing. According to Egwurugwu, the news rattled him but
he managed to keep his cool since he was driving.
Why Egwurugwu was invited
Egwurugwu said: "On getting to Abakaliki, I asked the police what was
my offence and why did they arrest my nurse. They said that there was
a man called Ifeanyichukwu Agwu from Amasiri in Afikpo North LGA of
Ebonyi State who had been acting as an agent to one Madam favour
resident in Amaigbo, Nwangele LGA of Imo State. They said that Ifeanyi
brings young pregnant girls from Amasiri to the woman in Amaigbo.
They said that one Uchechi Sunday was found to be pregnant in January
this year at Amasiri. Ifeanyi picked her from Amasiri to Amaigbo where
she stayed until she delivered in the first week of June. They said
that two days after the delivery, Madam Favour and her husband took
her in their car and drove out of their house. As they were going,
another vehicle was following behind. When they got to a lonely spot,
they took the baby from her and handed it over to the woman in the
second car. The woman changed the baby's clothings and took it away.
The girl started crying, asking Madam Favour where they were taking
her baby to. She was told that her baby was going for treatment and
the baby would be brought back after treatment. And that was the last
time she saw the baby.
"About a month after the incident, Madam Favour and her husband took
Uchechi to Okigwe motor park, gave her N10,000 and told her to buy
clothes and transport herself back to her village. When Uchechi got
home, her parents asked her where she kept her baby. She told them how
Madam Favour and her husband disposed off her baby. So, they reported
the case to the police in Afikpo and they arrested Ifeanyi. The police
also took Uchechi into custody. The matter was later transferred to
Abakaliki, following a petition by a human rights group."
The doctor added that "the same human rights group came to the
maternity cum orphanage run by Madam Favour in Amaigbo, Nwangele LGA
and met some young pregnant girls there. But instead of reporting to
the police when they saw these things, the human rights group went
back to Abakaliki and wrote a petition to the commissioner to
investigate the matter. Following that, the police came to Orlu in the
night of Friday, August 16 and slept over. They stormed Feziechi
Hospital the following morning and picked Ezenwa.
Orlu operation
"Before coming to Feziechi Hospital, the police team had earlier gone
to Ezianieke, Owerre Ebeiri where Madam Favour and her family were
living. By the time they got there, the landlord of the building had
ejected them on the account that since she moved into the apartment
two months earlier they had known no peace as policemen had been
harassing the occupants of the building. Madam Favour moved out of the
apartment two days before the police struck, August 14 to be precise.
"As the team passed by Feziechi Hospital, Uchechi who was with them in
the vehicle pointed at the building, saying that Madam favour informed
her that the place belongs to her. It was on that basis that the team
came and whisked away Ezenwa. In the petition written by the human
rights group, neither the name of the hospital nor its proprietor was
mentioned.
Why Feziechi was fingered
At about 9.45am on June 30, one Onyinyechi Okpara was rushed to
Feziechi Hospital with a case of obstructed labour. She was being
delivered in a maternity, which they refused to mention. When she
could not deliver, she was brought to Feziechi Hospital where she was
operated upon the same day. Both baby and mother were alive. On July
8, they were discharged after the male child had been circumcised on
the eight day in accordance with the tradition of the area. The next
day, July 9, they went home.
Investigation revealed that while Onyinyechi was on admission, her
mother looked after her. At the time, the woman also disclosed that
she had four children made up of two boys and two girls. She further
disclosed Onyinyechi was impregnated by one of their tenants and ran
away.
"When Onyinyechi became pregnant and the man responsible ran away, her
brothers chased her from their compound, insisting that she should go
to her runaway lover. As a result, a relation of hers living at
Amaigbo took her to Amaigbo. That relation of hers was Madam Favour.
She was the person who paid the hospital bill and visited her
occasionally at the hospital," a source disclosed.
I'm not involved – Doctor
In a chat, Egwurugwu said: "When I got to the police station, I told
them that I don't know Madam Favour; I have no business with her. I am
the sole owner of Feziechi Hospital in Owerre Ebeiri, Orlu LGA of Imo
State. The hospital was registered in 1999 by the Ministry of Health,
Owerri. I run the hospital alone, except the doctors I employ from
time to time.
"While at Abakaliki, the Assistant Commissioner in-charge of Crimes, a
tiv, said that they must detain me until they get the woman. He said
that I must get the woman, that two of us are running a syndicate. I
told him that if he knew who Dr Egwurugwu is, he would not be talking
the way he was talking, there is no way I could be involved in such
racketeering. My integrity speaks for me. He said all he knew was that
I'm part of the business. He now signed the detention order. So, they
detained me and later offered us bail at N100,000, which I refused to
pay. I told my people not to pay because I did not commit any offence.
I was ready to stay in detention until any time they are tired of me
but my people insisted that they must go back with me. I told them
that that they were on their own. That I saved the lives of mother and
child is no offence in Nigeria. I did my professional work as a
medical practitioner. Whatever happens to the baby after discharge is
not my business. There is no way I should know whether they trafficked
the baby or not after discharge because I don't monitor every baby
that was delivered in my clinic".
Egwurugwu further posited: "During the interview, I asked Mr Etuk
Udoh, the IPO, why he came to Orlu based on the petition by the human
rights group that there was a certain baby factory in Amaigbo but did
not go there? H e said that he did no go because Ifeanyi Agwu said
that he did not know the way to Amaigbo again. I told him it was not
true. Ifeanyi also said it was not true, that they refused to go.
Ifeanyi said that by the time they got to Anara, he told them to
reverse because they had passed Amaigbo; that from Anara to Amaigbo is
less than 10 minutes drive.
"I asked him what effort did he make to go to the so-called baby
factory and pick the girls they told him were there? He said that they
were afraid because they were carrying a suspect. The suspect he was
referring to was a woman, a staff nurse. I told him that he didn't do
his work well, that he had compromised his investigation. They came to
Orlu and spent two days in Imo State and made no effort at arresting
the prime suspect; they made no effort at identifying the so-called
baby factory. He said that the woman would come, that he had been
communicating with her on phone. I asked him that he had been
communicating with the woman on phone yet he had effontry of coming to
Orlu to pick my nurse.
"While I was writing my statement, they brought Uchechi Sunday from
the cell and I was surrounded by so many people who thought I was the
criminal. So, when they brought her before me, they asked her if she
knew me and she said no, that she had not seen me before. They asked
me if I knew her and I said that I do not know her. So, they were
surprised at that information or disclosure. She also told them that I
was not Madam Favour's husband. I do not know Madam Favour not to talk
of the little girl.
"From what my nurse who was detained said, Uchechi must have brought
food to Onyinyechi, the girl we operated upon on July 30 while she was
on admission. Maybe that was why she knew the hospital, and there is
no way we can monitor whoever is bringing food to patients in the
hospital because it is an open place.
"We were granted bail on Monday, August 19 at around 8.00pm so there
was no way we could go back to Orlu that day. So, we slept in a hotel
and came back to Orlu the next day. We were asked to report at the
police station on August 24 or so and when we got to Abakaliki, they
started laughing. They said, Doctor why are you here? Why didn't you
call us on phone? I asked them if they were making mockery of me or
not? They said that when they arrest the woman and interview her, they
would invite me for interview with the Assistant Commissioner of
Police in-charge of crimes. When the 2ic invited me to his office, he
said that I should help them find a way of getting the woman. I told
him it was not my business to do police work. I told him that they
were bent on destroying my 23 years image in the medical profession
and that I would not take it lightly. He said that once they arrest
the woman and she says that my clinic is not her clinic, the PPRO
would address another press conference exonerating the clinic and
myself from the crime.
"As at the time of this interview (August 27), they've not called. The
IPO told me that the woman calls him three or four times every day,
that he was even surprised that she had not called that Thursday
morning when I got to Abakaliki. I told him that he was doing business
with the woman otherwise they should have gone to pick the woman
instead of going to pick her. The woman will never come to Abakaliki,
that's what I told the IPO because they have compromised in the
investigation by giving her all the freedom she does not deserve and
harassing us as scape goats in the case".
When Madam Favour's former landlord at Owerre Ebeiri was contacted on
phone, he refused to talk on the issue. "I don't think I can respond
to this," answered the landlord, a top civil servant in Imo State.
Factory
Daily Sun traced the baby factory to a one-storey building near
Central School, Umuezealanwoke village in Amaigbo but they had moved
out of the place. A source said: "Some pregnant girls were kept in the
building. They used to hang around the building in the evening to take
fresh air but they never came out of the premises. There was a girl
aged between 13 and 14 years who used to run errands for them.
Whenever the pregnant girls needed anything, they will send the
younger girl. But they left about two months ago".
It was gathered that when the owner of the building learnt that his
brother had rented it out, he was sad and insisted that the occupants
should leave. The owner of the building, who is suffering from stroke,
lives in the United States of America.
Operators
Investigation revealed that Madam Favour and her husband, Chimezie run
the baby factory. While the latter is an indigene of Umugwanya village
in Amaigbo and of royal stock, the former is believed to hail from
Mbaise.
Police
A police source described Dr Egwurugwu as a victim of circumstance,
saying that his hospital became involved because one of the dramatis
personae fingered it. He added that the State Police Command was under
intense pressure from government "to do something about the matter."
The officer who refused to be named said: "When Dr Egwurugwu came, he
was armed with files detailing his activities. He left no one in doubt
that he was clean. He showed the dates the girl was admitted and
discharged respectively. It is just unfortunate that someone pointed
at the hospital. His name was not mentioned in the petition."
It was also gathered that Ifeany Agwu has been charged to court and
reminded in prison. Meanwhile, Madam Favour has added a new twist to
the matter by dragging the police to court for infringement on her
fundamental human rights. According to the Ebonyi PPRO, Mr Sylvester
Igbo, she claimed that she had an agreement with Uchechi Sunday and
her parents to take custody of the baby because they could not afford
to cater for him. Madam Favour is asking for N5 million as damages
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