Woman, 37, bags 14 years prison term for stealing newborn, declared fugitive in Ekiti

Deborah Ayeni, a 37-year-old woman, was handed down a 14-year prison sentence by an Ekiti State High Court in Ado-Ekiti on Tuesday. The sentence was passed in absentia due to her failure to appear in court, and she has been declared a fugitive. Justice Lekan Olatawura issued this ruling after the court's sureties were unable to produce her.

The court also ordered the court registrar to notify the Controller General of Customs, the Nigeria Police, and the media about Ayeni's fugitive status, with the sentence beginning upon her apprehension. Additionally, the court imposed a six-month imprisonment term on Ayeni's two sureties, including her father, for failing to produce Ayeni and pay the required recognizance surety fees.

The trial centered around Ayeni's alleged theft of a newborn baby from Mustapher Aliu and his wife, Falmata, on August 4, 2025. Ayeni pleaded not guilty on her first arraignment on September 1, 2025. The prosecutor presented four witnesses during the trial and is expected to call the third witness soon. Ayeni's defense claimed she had been kidnapped on her way to court and thus did not appear.

Her father, as one of her sureties, testified that she was at home when questioned about her whereabouts by the judge. The prosecution detailed Ayeni's deception, including lying about a recent pregnancy to her husband to deceive him into returning to Nigeria for her delivery. The baby was later recovered by the police, and Ayeni's actions violated section 292 of the Criminal Law of Ekiti, 2021.