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, while declaring her a fugitive after she failed to appear in court.
Justice Lekan Olatawura imposed the sentence in absentia on Tuesday after Ayeni’s sureties failed to produce her for the continuation of her trial.
The judge ordered the court registrar to forward the judgment and a letter declaring Ayeni wanted to the Comptroller-General of Customs, the Nigeria Police Force and the media to facilitate her arrest.
He ruled that the prison term would begin from the day she is apprehended.
The court also sentenced Ayeni’s two sureties, including her father, Babatope Ebenezer Ayeni, to six months in prison for failing to produce her and pay the required recognisance fees.
Justice Olatawura had earlier revoked Ayeni’s bail after she repeatedly failed to appear in court.
The prosecution told the court that Ayeni allegedly stole the baby from a couple, Mustapher Aliu and his wife, Falmata, in Ado-Ekiti on August 4, 2025, after losing her own pregnancy.
According to the prosecutor, Ibironke Odetola, Ayeni allegedly deceived her husband, who lives abroad, into believing that she was pregnant and due to deliver.
Odetola said Ayeni used clothes wrapped around her stomach to create the impression of a pregnancy and invited her husband to Nigeria for the supposed delivery.
The prosecutor said Ayeni subsequently went to a hospital in the Okeyinmi area of Ado-Ekiti, where she allegedly took the couple’s newborn baby and handed the child to a midwife.
She said the midwife became suspicious of Ayeni’s activities and alerted the police, leading to her arrest and the rescue of the baby.
During the trial, the prosecution called four witnesses. Odetola said Ayeni later told her lawyer that she had been kidnapped while travelling, after which she stopped appearing in court.
The prosecution added that Ayeni’s father, who was one of her sureties, appeared before the court on one occasion and claimed she was at home when questioned about her whereabouts.
Ayeni was first arraigned on September 1, 2025, and pleaded not guilty to the charge.
The offence was said to be contrary to Section 292 of the Criminal Law of Ekiti State, 2021.
Discussion0