A Chief Magistrate’s Court in Ado-Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital, has ordered the remand of 34-year-old Deborah Ayeni in prison for allegedly stealing a newborn from a hospital in the state.

The suspect gained access to the maternity ward of Okeyimi Healthcare Centre in Ado-Ekiti on August 4, 2025 and stole the newborn baby.

She was subsequently arrested by the police after a discreet investigation.

The baby was recovered from her and reunited with the parents, Mustapha Aliyu and Salmatu Lawal.

During interrogation, Ayeni confessed to carrying out the criminal act to deceive her United Kingdom-based husband that she delivered a new baby.

She claimed that her decision to steal the baby was to cover up her lies about the fake pregnancy since she had already collected a lot of money from her husband.

The police prosecutor, Akinwale Oriyomi, informed the court that there is probable cause to order the remand of the defendant at the Correctional Service, Ado-Ekiti, who is reasonably suspected to have committed the offence.

The prosecutor pointed out that the offence is punishable under Section 292 of the Criminal Law of Ekiti State 2021 within Ado-Ekiti Magisterial District and requested that the application be granted.

He noted that the duplicate case file has been sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions for legal advice.

The defendant was represented by Stephen Ademuwagun.

The Chief Magistrate, Abayomi Adeosun, granted the application for her remand and adjourned the case till September 12, 2025, for mention.