The state Police Commissioner, Ebunoluwarotimi Adelesi, gave this directive in a statement signed by the Public Relations Officer of the Command, SP Okasanmi Ajayi.
According to the statement, the warning was prompted by the regrettable occurrence of a-two-month-old baby being stolen during a graduation ceremony at a private school in the Surulere area of Ilorin, Kwara State.
The police, however, blamed the incident on the careless attitude of the baby’s mother.
To guard against future occurrence of such criminal acts, the commissioner advised employers to make proper documentation of the would-be employees, including taking their photographs and tracing their addresses as well as identifying his or her next of kin.
The statement read, “The Kwara State Police Command wishes to inform the good people of Kwara State of the unfortunate incident of a woman in the Surulere area of Ilorin losing her child to a complete stranger due to her lackadaisical attitude, which brings to the fore the unprofessional ways our recruitment processes are done.
“To this end, the Commissioner of Police, Kwara State, CP Ebunoluwarotimi Adelesi, psc+ FISN, wishes to advise employers of labour in the state to always carry out background checks on potential staff they employ.
“Profiling intended workers should include taking photographs and addresses of next of kin, tracing the addresses, and taking biometrics of such workers; this will prevent many negative acts from such an intended worker.”
The command added that investigation had commenced, saying, “the above-stated case of child theft is being discreetly investigated, and the culprit is being identified regardless of her being anonymous yet.
“The above advice is to get our people informed of ways by which such an unfortunate incident could be averted.”
