Imah Ajirioghene
The Ogun State Police Command has arrested a 33-year-old mother, Olaide Adekunle, for allegedly selling her 18-month-old baby for N600,000 to pay off a loan she obtained from a microfinance bank.
This was revealed by the State’s Police Public Relations Officer, SP Abimbola Oyeyemi spokesman, in Abeokuta.
According to him, the suspect was arrested following a report at Sango divisional headquarters by her husband, one Nureni Rasaq, saying the wife left home for Lagos in March with their baby girl, Moridiat Rasaq, but returned home without him.
He added that all efforts to know what happened to the baby proved abortive as the woman was unable to give any reasonable account of the baby’s whereabouts.
Oyeyemi said the DPO Sango division, Dahiru Saleh, immediately called for the arrest of the suspect who during interrogation confessed to have sold the baby for the sum of N600,000.
“On interrogation, the suspect confessed that she has sold the baby to someone in Lagos at the rate of six hundred thousand naira (N600,000).
“When asked the reason for her action, she stated that she borrowed money from a microfinance bank, and when she was unable to pay back the money, the bank agents started dragging her and threatening to deal decisively with her. It was consequence upon this that she ran to Lagos and started hawking sachet water.
“It was while hawking that she met a man who introduced her to the woman that eventually bought the child in Lagos,” Oyeyemi quoted the suspect to have said.
He added that the suspect has been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department for further investigation and possible recovery of the baby.