An Air Peace all-female crew on Sunday foiled an attempt by a middle-aged woman and her collaborators to traffic a three-day-old baby boy from Port Harcourt Airport to Lagos.
Spokesperson of Air Peace, Chris Iwarah, confirmed the development in a statement issued on Wednesday in Lagos.
Mr Iwarah said the crew was made up of Captain Sinmisola Ajibola, Senior First Officer Onohi Agboighale, Mojoko Ewane, Taiye Abbey, Victoria Ukpiaifo and Ngozi Ezeamaka.
He said the suspect had booked Air Peace Port Harcourt-Lagos Flight P4 7393 on Sunday.
According to him, during boarding, the Lead Crew of the flight, Ewane, observed that the suspect was handling the baby in an awkward manner and decided to question her.
“The suspect said she gave birth to the baby shortly after travelling from Lagos to Port Harcourt on an Air Peace flight on January 5.
“A call was later placed to the contact numbers the suspect said belonged to her husband and the doctor who handled the birth of the child.
“While the alleged husband claimed that his wife was actually pregnant, the alleged doctor’s number rang unanswered,” he said.
Iwarah said when the suspect was asked to breastfeed the baby, she could not as there was no breast milk.
“When the crew informed the suspect that the carrier’s standard operating procedure barred them from allowing passengers fly with a week-old baby on grounds of health, she claimed to be a nurse and insisted that the baby’s health would not be jeopardised.
“The airline later invited personnel of the Department of State Services (DSS) at the Port Harcourt Airport to take over the case for further investigations,” he said.
He said the airline later gathered that the suspect had been transferred to the zonal office of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, for further handling.
