The police have arrested Pastor Esther
Ozuem, General Overseer of Word Encounter Ministry over alleged child
theft. She is being detained at the State CID at Panti, Yaba, Lagos.
Mrs Ozuem is said to have stolen the
nine-month-old boy from a member of her church. It was gathered that
went to Alakuko Police Station on March 18 to report a case of child
abandonment in her church.
But the story changed when police
detectives later discovered that the pastor took the child from his
mother, 24yrs old Christianah Ebele, the day she delivered.
According to police, the pastor
registered the child at the National Primary Health Care Development
Agency (NPHCDA), where the baby was immunised as Temple Ozuem, with her
mother’s name given as Chinyere Ozuem.
The female pastor is now also being investigated to ascertain the maternity of her three children.
In her statement, Miss Ebele said she
went to the pastor for financial assistance when she was pregnant and
the “woman of God” agreed to help her.
She said she was taken to Ozuem’s church
by her elder sister who worships there, adding that her sister told the
pastor that they were poor and could not take care of the baby.
The woman, who denied abandoning nor
selling her baby to the pastor, said she was chased out of her house for
attempting to feed the crying child.
“My elder sister took me to her church
where I met Pastor Esther. My sister told her that we are poor and we
cannot take care of the pregnancy and that when the baby is born, life
will be harder for us.
“I was eight months pregnant and she
agreed to help me. Pastor Esther took me in and she promised to help
establish me financially after I give birth. She told me that she will
give me money to start a business and cater for the child.
“However, after I gave birth, she
changed towards me. The day I gave birth, it was raining heavily. She
refused to take me to the hospital. She brought a nurse to deliver me of
the baby. To my shock, Pastor Esther took the baby from me immediately I
gave birth and warned me not to touch the child.
“She also told me not to breastfeed the
baby and when the baby was crying and I attempted to feed him, she got
angry and chased me out of the house in the rain. I was crying but she
did not allow me to carry my baby. I had to find my way to my sister’s
house and I told her what happened.
“I did not go to the police station
because I did not know what to do. Besides, I did not have money. I am
very poor and can barely feed myself.
“My mother is also poor and other
members of my family are not doing fine financially. So, I decided to
leave everything to God. I found out that Pastor Esther took my son and
she had a child naming for him without informing me. She named him
Temple Ozuem and even took him to the health centre and registered him
as her son. I don’t know why she came to report to the police but even
now I can’t cater for him.
“I need help and it is not true that I sold my baby. She did not give me any money. I only approached her for help,” she said.
But Pastor Ozuem has insisted she did not steal the baby, claiming that the mother abandoned the child.
Credit:Nigeria Camera
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