A 23-year-old British woman has been charged with forcibly removing a 4-year-old boy from his mother’s grasp at Miami International Airport, citing divine guidance as her reason. The woman, identified as Alvina Omisiri Agba, allegedly approached the visibly upset mother and her crying child at a security checkpoint on Tuesday morning, offering to soothe the distressed boy.
Agba is reported to have lifted the child and walked away, prompting the mother to pursue her in a state of alarm. When confronted, Agba purportedly claimed the boy was her own. She is said to have tightly wrapped her arms and legs around the child, pushing the mother away in the process.
A physical struggle ensued between the mother and Agba, with each woman gripping different parts of the child. Naylet Montano, a bystander, intervened and managed to extricate the child from Agba. Three men also intervened, creating a human barrier between Montano and Agba to thwart any further attempts to abduct the child.
Agba fled the scene but was later apprehended at another airport checkpoint following a 911 call made by airport staff. Upon her arrest, Agba reportedly told police that she remembered the mother trying to reclaim her child, but her recollection of the subsequent events was hazy. She asserted that she had taken the child because she believed God had instructed her to do so.
Agba also referred to a wall adorned with a rainbow, stating that she had intended to use the image to pacify the child. She has since been charged with interference with custody and two counts of battery.
Agba, a resident of Luton, England, is currently being held at Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center. The Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office has not yet issued a statement regarding the incident.