An Ekiti State High Court sitting in Ado-Ekiti has sentenced 37-year-old Deborah Ayeni to 14 years in prison for stealing a newborn baby.
Justice Lekan Olatawura handed down the sentence on Tuesday in absentia after Ayeni’s sureties failed to produce her in court during the trial.
The judge also ordered the court registrar to forward the judgment and a letter to the Comptroller-General of Customs, the Nigeria Police and the media, declaring Ayeni a fugitive and directing that she be apprehended.
The court ruled that her 14-year sentence would commence immediately upon her arrest.
Justice Olatawura also sentenced Ayeni’s two sureties, including her father, Babatope Ebenezer Ayeni, to six months in prison for failing to produce her in court and pay the required recognisance fees, in line with the Administration of Criminal Justice Law of Ekiti State, 2014, as amended.
The court had earlier revoked Ayeni’s bail after she repeatedly failed to appear for trial.
Ayeni was first arraigned on September 1, 2025, where she pleaded not guilty to a one-count charge of child stealing.
According to the prosecution, led by Ibironke Odetola, Ayeni stole the newborn baby of Mustapher Aliu and his wife, Falmata, in Ado-Ekiti on August 4, 2025, with the intention of depriving the couple of their child.
The prosecutor said Ayeni had allegedly lost a pregnancy around May 2025 and subsequently deceived her husband, who lives abroad, into believing she was pregnant and preparing to give birth.
She reportedly invited him to Nigeria for the supposed delivery and used clothes wrapped around her stomach to make it appear that she was pregnant.
Odetola said Ayeni later went to a hospital in the Okeyinmi area of Ado-Ekiti, where she allegedly stole the complainants’ newborn baby and handed the child to a midwife for care.
The midwife reportedly noticed inconsistencies in Ayeni’s story and activities and alerted the police, leading to her arrest.
The prosecutor said the baby was later rescued alive by the police.
Ayeni was convicted under Section 292 of the Criminal Law of Ekiti State, 2021.
