A woman has allegedly sold her three-month-old grandson for N50, 000 in Anambra state, Nigeria’s South-east.
The suspect, Oluchukwu Nwosu, allegedly sold the newborn without informing her daughter, Ijeoma, who gave birth to the child out of wedlock.
Chidinma Ikeanyionwu, a media aide to the Commissioner for Women and Social Welfare in the state, Ify Obinabo, stated this in a statement Sunday.
Ms Ikeanyionwu said the child has now been rescued by the commissioner, who also facilitated the arrest of the suspect by the police.
The media aide said the rescue was in response to a report from Ijeoma, the child’s mother, that the suspect “forcefully” sold the child and refused to speak to her about his whereabouts.
“After almost a month of consistent intelligence surveillance by the Ministry of Women and Social Welfare, the offenders (seller and buyer) were caught,” Ms Ikeanyionwu said.
The suspect, Mrs Nwosu, speaking after her arrest, claimed that she was forced to sell the baby due to their low income and inability to care for the baby.
The grandmother said this was the third time her daughter had given birth to a child outside wedlock, pointing out that two other children- also males- were being cared for at an orphanage home in Awka.
She said they struggled to feed from the time her daughter gave birth to the child.
She claimed that a man, identified as Tochukwu Asiegbu, approached her and agreed to buy the child.
On his part, Mr Asiegbu, who reportedly resold the child, said he only made a profit of N30,000 from the business.
However, Evelyn Egwuatu, from whom the baby was retrieved, said she paid a woman, Ebelechukwu Uba, N200, 000 to buy the child.
Ms Egwuatu resides in Anambra, but hails from Ebonyi, another state in the South-east. (Premium Times)
