Today, September 24, 2013, five young pregnant girls appeared before the Judge of the Umuahia Magistrates' Court. The teenagers were tried for allegedly conspiring to commit felony, as well as buying and selling newborn babies.
The names of the teenagers are Blessing David, Chikodi Samuel, Goodluck Erondu, Miracle Ifeanyi, Mercy Dickson.
Happiness Chinemere, the sixth accused, did not appear in court, as she is currently at the Police Clinic in Umuahia.
The girls, according to the Prosecutor, Inspector Agwu Okoronkwo, were rescued from Isaac Okwuonu Memorial Hospital at Ogbor Hill in Aba between July and September.
The court was urged to remove the sixth accused girl, Chinemere, from the suit, until she is discharged and declared fit to stand trial.
However, counsel for the accused, Mr Emeka Okoye, opposed this suggestion of the Prosecutor, urging the court to order the police to discharge the girl from the clinic, as she does not get the best attention. Okoye insisted that Chinemere is being kept in "dehumanising conditions".
Okoronkwo, on his part, said it was because the police are not provided with beds, other necessities to keep the accused in comfort.
Mrs Elizabeth Kalu, the Chief Magistrate, stated it is "dehumanising" to keep pregnant girls on bare floor for such a long period of time.
The accused were directed by the judge to be remanded in prison instead of being in police custody. The case was, therefore, adjourned to September 30.
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