Dr. Happiness Enyinnaya Iheukeumere, also known as Dr. Hagi, who was previously arrested in October for allegedly trafficking four children to various locations, has been arrested once again. This time, he is accused of causing the death of a 20-year-old pregnant woman and subsequently selling her baby.
Dr. Hagi from Hagi Medical Center on Abohga Igwuruta market road, Port Harcourt, is accused of conducting surgery on a pregnant woman, identified as Racheal Sampson, to extract her baby, resulting in her death during the procedure. Following the surgery, the doctor allegedly took the baby away, and there are suspicions that the child was sold.
The deceased’s sister revealed that Dr. Happiness instructed a nurse to inform their family that Racheal died in a car accident.
The sister stated, “On November 15, 2023, an unidentified lady contacted us, claiming that my sister had died in a car accident. The informant provided a fake number and mentioned that she obtained the tip-off from that number. When we inquired about the location of my sister’s body, she was unable to provide any information. “We attempted to reach the number she provided, but our efforts were in vain. Subsequently, my parents went to Aba in search of my late sister’s body, considering that the accident reportedly occurred there. However, the police and medical personnel informed my parents that no woman had died at the accident scene.”
“We reported the incident to the police, and with their assistance, we were able to trace the anonymous lady who provided the tip-off.
The lady had initially claimed to be a POS agent residing in Choba, Rivers State, but it was later revealed that she was a nurse.
Upon her arrest, she confessed that Dr. Happiness had brought my sister to stay with her for a week but took her away on Monday, November 13. Two days later, he called the nurse and informed her that my sister had died during surgery, instructing her not to disclose this information to the family. He also directed her to blacklist our numbers. Surprisingly, we were unaware of Racheal’s pregnancy, and we never took her to the doctor’s hospital.”
Nurses employed by Dr. Happiness were interrogated, and they confessed to being present during the surgery on Racheal, which led to her death. The nurses affirmed that the baby was alive following the surgery, but the doctor took the infant to an undisclosed location.
Dr. Happiness attempted to flee but was later apprehended. He reportedly led the police to the morgue where he had placed the deceased’s body. In the morgue records, he had registered her name as Chioma John, claiming to be her father and providing his name as Chinemerem John.
This incident occurred only a few weeks after Dr. Happiness had been arrested and publicly paraded for child trafficking.
In October 2023, CP Nwonyi Emeka from the Rivers State Police Command disclosed that, prompted by a report of abduction on October 9th, he and his team took immediate action. This effort resulted in the arrest of Mr. Ifesinachi Opara, who had sold a child to Dr. Hagi. Subsequent investigations uncovered three additional children trafficked by Dr. Hagi from various locations in the country.
According to Nwonyi, his team rescued three children, originally abducted in Benue State, who had been sold in different parts of Port Harcourt. The rescued children included a one-year-old, a seven-month-old, a four-year-old, and a six-year-old female.
Despite the evidence against him, Dr. Happiness regained his freedom and reportedly continued to engage in criminal activities, leading to his subsequent arrest.