The Kebbi State Police Command has arrested a 19-year-old woman, Khadija Ibrahim, over the alleged theft of a newborn baby in Zuru Local Government Area of the state.
The command’s spokesperson in a statement issued by Bashir Usman, Ibrahim a resident of Rikoto in Zuru LGA, allegedly approached the baby’s mother, identified as Fatima Muhammad, shortly after she gave birth.
“After the birth of Fatima Muhammad’s baby, she allegedly took the child and presented it to her husband as their own,” Usman said.
Usman said Ibrahim was arrested on August 14, 2026, following an investigation into the alleged disappearance of the baby on July 23, 2025, further alleging that the suspect was under social and emotional pressure because some of her peers had already given birth.
“Preliminary investigation revealed that the suspect had allegedly been under social and emotional pressure over not yet having a child, as some of her peers had already given birth”, he said.
The police explained that the baby was recovered and reunited with the biological mother, as Ibrahim remains in police custody while investigations continue, noting that she would be charged to court after the investigation is concluded.
The incident comes against the backdrop of efforts by Kebbi State to strengthen its legal framework for protecting children.
In August 2022, Kebbi became the 31st Nigerian state to domesticate the federal Child Rights Act after the state government signed its Child Protection Bill into law. UNICEF described the legislation as an important framework for protecting children’s rights and urged the state to provide adequate resources and mechanisms for its implementation.
The state subsequently moved to review that framework. In November 2025, the Kebbi State House of Assembly passed a bill repealing the State Child’s Right Law No. 012 of 2021 and re-enacting the Child Protection Law, 2025.
The bill contains 209 sections and 16 schedules and was reviewed following consultations involving traditional institutions, religious bodies, lawyers and child-rights organisations.
Kebbi’s criminal justice framework also recognises child stealing as a specific offence. The state’s Penal Code lists child stealing under Section 211, alongside offences including abandonment, concealment of birth and cruelty to a person.
The Kebbi case is not an isolated example of newborns and young children being targeted in Nigeria.
in June 2026, Lagos police arrested a medical doctor, a traditional birth attendant and the parents of a newborn over an alleged plan to sell the baby for N2.5 million.
Police said the investigation was being handled by the Anti-Human Trafficking/Gender Unit of the State Criminal Investigation Department.
In another case, Ogun State police in May 2026 arrested a couple accused of child stealing and rescued three children. Police alleged that one of the children had previously been declared missing in a separate child-stealing case.
In Ondo State, police also reported in January 2025 that a syndicate had allegedly stolen and trafficked children from Ondo and Osun states, with investigators recovering 14 children, including several babies.
In January 2024, police in Nasarawa State arrested three suspects after a newborn boy was allegedly stolen from the Dalhatu Araf Specialist Hospital in Lafia shortly after his mother underwent a Caesarean section. Police said a woman had gained access to the mother by presenting herself as a caregiver.
