An Ekiti State High Court sitting in Ado-Ekiti has sentenced 37-year-old Deborah Ayeni to 14 years in prison for stealing a newborn baby.
Justice Lekan Olata delivered the judgment in Ayeni’s absence after she failed to return to court following her release on bail.
The court subsequently revoked her bail, declared her a fugitive and ordered security agencies to arrest her. Justice Olata ruled that the 14-year prison term would take effect from the day she is arrested.
The judge also directed the court registrar to forward copies of the judgment and a letter declaring Ayeni wanted to the Nigeria Police Force, the Comptroller-General of Customs and media organisations.
Ayeni’s two sureties, one of whom is her father, Babatope Ebenezer Ayeni, were also sanctioned for failing to produce her in court. They were ordered to spend six months in prison and pay the prescribed recognisance fees.
Ayeni was initially arraigned on September 1, 2025, on a one-count charge of child stealing. She pleaded not guilty to the allegation.
During the trial, prosecution counsel, 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.
The prosecution alleged that Ayeni had suffered a pregnancy loss but kept the information from her husband, who was living abroad. She reportedly continued to give him the impression that she was still pregnant.
According to the prosecution, Ayeni later invited her husband to Nigeria for the expected delivery. She allegedly used clothing around her abdomen to make it appear that she was pregnant.
The prosecution further told the court that Ayeni gained access to the newborn at a hospital in the Okeyinmi area of Ado-Ekiti and subsequently took the child away.
She allegedly handed the baby over to a midwife and informed her husband that she had given birth. The prosecution also alleged that she buried a placenta in an attempt to support the claim that she had delivered a child.
The midwife reportedly became suspicious about the circumstances surrounding the baby and alerted the police.
Her action led to Ayeni’s arrest and the recovery of the newborn alive.
The prosecution called four witnesses during the trial to establish its case against the defendant.
Following Ayeni’s failure to appear for further proceedings after being granted bail, the court proceeded with the necessary legal steps, eventually leading to the 14-year sentence and the order for her arrest.
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