Two nurses and a female soldier have been arrested in Cross River State for allegedly stealing a newborn baby and selling it. The incident took place in Akamkpa Local Government Area.

The suspects were caught after the mother, 19-year-old Justina Valentine Boniface from Aningeje village, raised an alarm, according to security analyst Zagazola Makama on Friday.

Boniface said she gave birth to a baby boy on August 12, 2025, at the Primary Health Centre in Aningeje, where she had been receiving antenatal care.

She claimed that while she was sleeping after delivery, two nurses on duty, Ndifon Nelly Ekpu, 45, and Obi Mary Baken, 38, allegedly planned to steal her baby.

Boniface explained that the nurses told her the baby had died and was buried at the hospital. She later learned this was false and reported the matter to the police.

The police said the two nurses confessed to selling the newborn to W/Sgt. Aisha Yakubu, a serving female soldier in the Nigerian Army, who has also been arrested.

Authorities added that they are still trying to locate the final person who received the baby and to recover the child.