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The Abia State House of Assembly Tuesday said the menace of baby factory phenomenon had continued to fester because the laws meant to check such criminalities were not being implemented.
The state Director of the State Security Service (SSS), Matthew Obodoechi, had last week called on the state legislature to enact “stringent laws” to put an end to the practice of harbouring pregnant teenagers in a home with the aim of selling their new born babies at the point. The service had recently rescued 16 pregnant ladies harboured in a home run by a non-governmental organisation with the name of Cross Foundation International.
But the Deputy Speaker of the Assembly, Hon Allwell Asiforo Okere, told journalists at the Assembly monthly briefing yesterday that the existing laws were enough to discourage people from operating baby factories if only there was effective implementation. “If we implement judiciously the laws of this land, there won’t be crime,” he said, adding that when laws are made and the provisions applied to the letter people would think twice before delving into criminal acts, including trafficking in babies.
Okere, who doubles as the Assembly Committee Chairman on Information and Strategy, said the state lawmakers were worried about the new crime trend of rearing ladies like animals to produce babies for sale, describing the practice as inhuman. He said the legislature was ready to accept any proposal from anybody aimed at finding a lasting solution to the menace of baby factories in the state.
The deputy speaker, who reviewed the activities of the Assembly in the just ended legislative year, said it was very productive as 12 bills were passed into law while 60 resolutions were adopted. He said the legislature “is very conscious of its duties and responsibilities hence all the laws and resolutions were tailored at improving the welfare of the citizenry as well as strengthening government machinery to delivery the needed democracy dividends.”
On the major challenge facing the legislators, the House committee information chairman said lack of understanding of the role of the legislature has remained a big headache as the lawmakers keep receiving blames for anything that goes wrong, including when the roads go bad.
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