Baby robbers on Rampage

THE type of shocking crimes being committed in our society, and the level to which evil men and women are willing to go to achieve their devilish ends are becoming something else.

The system is still reeling from the scourge of baby factories, where wayward young girls who get impregnated are lured to deliver their babies in exchange for paltry sums of money, while the owners of the syndicates sell the babies for huge sums of money.

The buyers of the babies deploy them for their nefarious uses ranging from begging to adoption, and the less fortunate ones are murdered for ritual purposes.

The war against innocent babies in Nigeria took another turn when on Monday, November 18, 2013, the media were filled with the gory story of how armed bandits suspected to be ritualists invaded a government hospital in Ado Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital, demanding for newborn babies.

According to the story, staff of the hospital gallantly did their best to thwart the efforts of the evil men by telling them that all newborns had been discharged from the hospital, and for this the armed men inflicted injuries on them.

After the attack, the Chairman of Ado Ekiti Local Government Area, Mr. Tope Olanipekun, was quoted as saying that  he had already taken steps to forestall a recurrence, such as ordering that night duties be suspended in all hospitals in the council.

We join millions of well meaning Nigerians to condemn this heinous, blood-chilling crime. It is simply unbelievable that some supposed human beings would descend to this low level in the quest for quick money.

Criminals have taken their act a notch higher because they have watched other despicable crimes such as human trafficking and the baby factory “business” go without adequate steps being taken by law enforcement agents to crush the perpetrators.

Thus, our highly vulnerable newborns, the future of our society as a people, are now so callously targeted and we have shown ourselves incapable of protecting them and dealing heavy blows on their assailants.

We call on the Governor of the State, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, as the father of the state and its Chief Security Officer, to mobilise the law enforcement agencies and lead the way in the search for the culprits and ensure that the heavy weight of the law is brought upon them in record time. This is not an assignment for a local government chairman.

Olanipekun showed his incapacity to accost the problem when he ordered the suspension of night duties in hospitals. If night duties are suspended who will care for inpatients during the night hours?

However, we commend the efforts of the hospital staff and urge them not to be discouraged in their good work.

 Vanguard.