An Ekiti State High Court sitting in Ado-Ekiti has sentenced 37-year-old Deborah Ayeni to 14 years’ imprisonment in absentia for stealing a newborn baby.
Justice Lekan Olatawura handed down the sentence after Ayeni failed to appear in court during her trial and was subsequently declared a fugitive.
The judge ordered the court registrar to forward the judgment and a letter declaring Ayeni wanted to the Controller General of Customs, the Nigeria Police and the media to facilitate her arrest.
Olatawura ruled that the 14-year sentence would commence immediately upon Ayeni’s arrest.
The court also sentenced Ayeni’s two sureties, including her father, Babatope Ebenezer Ayeni, to six months’ imprisonment for failing to produce her in court and fulfil their recognisance obligations.
Ayeni was first arraigned on September 1, 2025, on a one-count charge of child stealing and pleaded not guilty.
The prosecution, led by Ibironke Odetola, told the court that Ayeni stole the newborn on August 4, 2025, in Ado-Ekiti, after allegedly deceiving her husband, who is based abroad, into believing that she was pregnant.
According to the prosecution, Ayeni had lost a pregnancy around May 2025 but allegedly continued to pretend that she was expecting a child. She reportedly wrapped clothes around her stomach to create the appearance of a pregnancy and invited her husband to Nigeria for the supposed delivery.
The prosecution said Ayeni later went to a hospital in the Okeyinmi area of Ado-Ekiti, where she allegedly took the newborn from Mustapher Aliu and his wife, Falmata.
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She allegedly handed the baby to a midwife and told her husband that she had buried the placenta after giving birth.
The midwife reportedly became suspicious of Ayeni’s activities and alerted the police, leading to her arrest.
The prosecution called four witnesses during the trial and confirmed that the stolen baby was later rescued alive by the police.
The offence is contrary to Section 292 of the Criminal Law of Ekiti State, 2021.
