Couple Contending 'Ownership' Of 20-year-old Nigerian Woman Allegedly Stolen At Birth, Reject Inconsistent DNA Result

 

The family of Prof. Michael Ike Okwudili, who has expressed the belief that he is the father of one Juliet Agulanna, a 20-year-old woman allegedly stolen at birth, has rejected the results of the DNA test from LifeBridge Medical Laboratory which disproved a DNA that previously showed that he is the father.

According to a source, the issues were raised about the result of the second DNA test conducted by the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) at LifeBridge Laboratory to confirm the paternity of 20-year-old Juliet, which returned negative, contradicting the initial result which was positive.

However, the allegations that Juliet was stolen at birth have not been disproved as Mrs Mariatha Chidinma Agulanna, who claimed to have adopted her has failed to provide any legal evidence to substantiate that she legally adopted Juliet.

It had been reported that the letter from the National Red Cross Society, Imo state chapter, which she claimed was issued to her as adoption certification had been debunked as the society claimed that it doesn’t do adoption.

Meanwhile, Okwudili in a letter to the Managing Director of the LifeBridge Medical Diagnostics Centre, Enugu through his lawyer, Odili Emeka Izuchukwu Esq, vowed to challenge and contest the result to any length. He, therefore, gave them two weeks to reconcile their processes to ensure that the results were not tampered it or swapped.

The letter dated May 1, 2023, partly read, “We are counsel to Chief Professor Michael Okwudili and Mrs. Gloria Okwudili of OSISATECH at No. 1 Ogui Road Enugu whom we shall hereinafter refer to as our clients and on whose firm instruction we write to you.

“Our client got married in 1997. They had a statutory marriage and when conception did not occur some years after the marriage, they were introduced to Dr Oguannua (late) who was a Gynecologist. Ougannua of Madonna infirmary was the doctor who managed the wife until she conceived in 2001. Her whole period of checkups during pregnancy were at Dr Oguannua's Madonna infirmary hospital.

“Our client informed us that the result of ultrasound scanning during her whole period of pregnancy were not disclosed to them but were rather withheld by Dr. Oguannua and his nurses.

“It is their instruction that during the period of delivery Professor Michael Okwudili requested that he witness the whole procedure which the doctor and his nurses turned down. On the day of delivery, Mrs. Gloria Okwudili was alone in the hospital. After the delivery, the nurse Eucharia was not seen again. It was the late doctor Oguannua who told Mrs. Gloria Okwudili that she had a baby boy and he showed the baby boy to her.”

It added, “Our clients informed us that they never suspected anything until, recently when a girl with so much resemblance with their son came to one of the shop's that they rented out to a customer who is a hairdresser to learn hair dressing. “Everybody was calling her the twin sister to our client’s son. Our clients got so much interested in her that they asked for her date of birth which coincided with that of their son. The date is 18th of July 2002. The same date our client’s son was born.

“Subsequent discussions with the girl made her curious and she pressed our client for a DNA test to ascertain her actual paternity which was conducted at ‘Safety Molecular Pathology Lab at 44 Rangers Avenue Independence Layout Enugu’.

“The Lab Result with case reference number: SMPL487 emphatically confirmed with 99.9996% precision that professor Michael Okwudili is the father of Miss. Juliet Odinaka Okwudili which made us to write a petition to NAPTIP against Mrs. Chidimma Mariatha Agulanna and her husband, the adopted parents of Miss Juliet Odinaka O. as she was addressed in your own Lab result of 12/04/2023.

“The result of the paternity that was conducted in Safety Molecular Pathology Lab which suggested that professor Michael Okwudili is the father of Miss Juliet Odinaka Agulanna was also attached to the petition that we submitted to NAPTIP. Mrs. Chidimma Mariatha Agulanna was later arrested by NAPTIP and later granted bail afterwards.

“That NAPTIP later ordered and firmly instructed that another paternity test be conducted this time around between Professor Michael Okwudili, his wife Mrs. Gloria Okwudili and Miss Juliet Odinaka Agulanna (Okwudili) (the alleged stolen child)

“NAPTIP suggested, insisted and instructed firmly to our clients that they have a laboratory where they normally carry out such paternity or DNA tests. They our (sic) client were taken to your laboratory at No. 6 Occonor Street Asata Enugu, Enugu State (Life Bridge Medical Diagnostics Center with Mrs. Chidimma Mariatha Agulanna driving in company of a NAPTIP officer while our clients Professor and Mrs. Okwudili were driving behind them until they got to your Lab or facility (Life Bridge Medical Diagnostics Center where their blood samples ie the blood samples of Professor and Mrs. Okwudili and the alleged stolen child miss Juliet Odinaka Agulanna (Okwudili) were collected on 1" of March, 2023.

“Blood samples of our clients Prof Michael Okwudili and his wife Mrs. Gloria Okwudili were collected together with that of Miss Agulanna Juliet O. on 1 March, 2023.

“We most humbly call your attention to the said Laboratory Report Form Lab No 11437 from Life Bridge Medical Diagnostics Center herein attached and also the result from Safety Molecular Pathology lab at 44 Rangers Avenue Independence Layout Enugu herein attached.

“It is on this basis that we most humbly write to inform you that we did not and cannot accept the result from your facility or laboratory titled Laboratory Report Form, Date 01/03/2023 Name: Okwudili Michael Ike; Request No. EN/015473/0323; Lab No. 11437; Account: Private; Diagnosis: Nil. The above result was signed by the Lab Scientist and it was dated 12/4/2023.”

Meanwhile, SaharaReporters gathered that the Police Force Criminal Intelligence and Investigation Department informed Okwudilis last week that it would commence its own investigation into the case.

SaharaReporters had reported that the police team led by one CSP Chris Ofor after collecting about N1.1 million from the families in September 2022 for a DNA test and investigation into how Juliet was allegedly stolen, never opened an investigation which led the Okwudilis to petition NAPTIP.