Fawaz Adebisi
A 45-year-old woman, Oluchukwu Nwosu, has been arrested by the Anambra State Government for allegedly selling her three-month-old grandchild for N50,000.
The Commissioner for Women and Social Welfare, Mrs Ify Obinabo, who confirmed the arrest on Sunday, said the baby was rescued after a month-long investigation.
She said the ministry acted on a complaint by the baby’s mother, Ijeoma Nwosu, who accused her mother of selling her baby without her consent.
According to Obinabo, four suspects were involved in the illegal transaction and they would be handed over to the police for prosecution.
She expressed concern over the health condition of the baby, who was looking sick and malnourished.
She said the buyer confessed that she could not afford proper baby food and resorted to feeding the baby with soya bean powder.
The commissioner warned that the state government would not tolerate any form of unlawful adoption and child trafficking in the state.
She urged parents and guardians to take care of their children and report any case of abuse or exploitation to the ministry.
In her confession, Oluchukwu said she sold her grandchild because of poverty and that it was the third child her daughter had out of wedlock.
She said she met one Tochukwu Asiegbu, who agreed to pay her N50,000 for the baby.
Asiegbu, on his part, said he made a profit of N30,000 from the deal and that he only linked Oluchukwu to the buyer.
The buyer, Evelyn Egwuatu, from Uruagu in Nnewi, said she paid N200,000 to get the baby from one Ebelechukwu Uba, who claimed to be from Ebonyi but lived in Anambra.
Uba, however, denied being the seller and said he was just a middleman between Asiegbu and Egwuatu.
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