An Ekiti State High Court sitting in Ado-Ekiti has sentenced a 37-year-old woman, Deborah Ayeni, to 14 years in prison for stealing a newborn baby.
Justice Lekan Olatawura delivered the judgment in Ayeni’s absence after her sureties failed to produce her in court during the trial.
The judge also directed the court registrar to send copies of the judgment and a notice declaring Ayeni a fugitive to the Nigeria Police, Nigeria Customs Service and the media to assist in securing her arrest.
Olatawura ruled that the prison term would begin from the day Ayeni is apprehended. He also sentenced her two sureties, including her father, Babatope Ebenezer Ayeni, to six months in prison for failing to produce her and fulfil their obligations under the recognisance.
The court had earlier cancelled Ayeni’s bail after she repeatedly failed to attend proceedings.
She was first arraigned on September 1, 2025, and pleaded not guilty to a one-count charge of child stealing.
Prosecutor Ibironke Odetola told the court that Ayeni allegedly took a newborn belonging to Mustapher Aliu and his wife, Falmata, in Ado-Ekiti on August 4, 2025, with the intention of depriving the parents of the child.
The prosecutor said Ayeni had allegedly lost a pregnancy months earlier but concealed the development from her husband, who lives abroad, by pretending she was still pregnant.
She reportedly used clothes around her stomach to create the appearance of pregnancy and invited him to Nigeria for the supposed delivery.
According to Odetola, Ayeni allegedly obtained the newborn from a hospital in the Okeyinmi area and handed the baby to a midwife.
The midwife reportedly became suspicious, alerted the police and led to Ayeni’s arrest and the recovery of the child alive. The prosecution said the offence contravened Section 292 of the Criminal Law of Ekiti State, 2021.
