Woman unable to bear children but presented a son to her husband few hours to his death is arrested after family got suspicious

The police have arrested a widow, Mrs Stella Ekwerekwu, for allegedly presenting a four-month-old baby boy as the next of kin of her late husband, Victor.

Punch correspondent learnt that she would be arraigned today (Friday).

The suspect, according to a petition to the Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, which was dated January 3, 2020, by the deceased’s brother, Charles Nwabufo, brought the baby a few hours before her husband’s death.

The couple, who were natives of Onitsha, Anambra State, were said to have been married for 18 years without a child.

The accused was said to have a few hours after presenting the child to her dying husband, proceeded to the probate registry to register him as the man’s next of kin.

The husband’s family, who knew all along that the couple had no child, became suspicious and called for the woman’s arrest.

In the petition sent to the IG, which necessitated Stella’s arrest and subsequent detention, the petitioner alleged that his brother’s wife, who could not bear a child during their marriage, appeared with the child on her brother’s sick bed a few hours to his death, claiming that he was his son.

The man, who died on October 29, 2019, is still lying in the mortuary.

The police boss, who acted on the petition, directed the Intelligence Response Team Unit, led by the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Abba Kyari, to act swiftly.