According to Daily Trust, Clara Chinwe Deborah Ogo, an 83-year-old woman and founder of the renowned Arrow of God Orphanage in Anambra State, has been remanded at a Correctional Centre in Onitsha, Anambra.
She was remanded after The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) arraigned her at the Federal High Court, Awka Judicial Division, for alleged buying and selling of human beings.
Ogo, a retired Nigerian Army Lt. Col, and a nurse, owns the orphanage located at Nkwelle-Ezunaka, Oyi L.G.A., Anambra State, with branches in Lagos State.
In 2023, the Arrow of God Orphanage came under investigation after investigative journalist Fisayo Soyombo revealed purportedly illegal adoption and sales of infants associated with the orphanage.
In July 2023, after 19 months of rigorous work to crack the case, Soyombo paid N2 million for a baby from Ogo. After these disclosures, NAPTIP conducted a thorough investigation that led to Ogo’s detention on October 3, 2023, in the grounds of the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Welfare in Awka, Anambra State.
The one count charge against the defendant read as follows: “That on July 6, 2023, at the above address within the jurisdiction of this honourable court, you Ogo Chinwe Clara Deborah (F) 83 Years old, of 66 Awka Road, Onitsha, Anambra State and others (at large), did buy and sell a baby, female, 5 (five) months old, and thereby committed an offence punishable under Sections 21 of the trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Enforcement and Administration Act, 2015.” Clara Ogo entered a not guilty plea to the accusation.
The sitting court, Justice Hauwa Yilwa, granted her bail in exchange for two sureties and a N1.3 million bond.
After that, she was placed under detention at the Onitsha Correctional Facility until her bail requirements were met. The trial in this case has been postponed until July 10, 2024. The orphanage is now closed.……..See More
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