BY MAYOWA SAMUEL
Operatives of the Oyo State Police Command have arrested a man identified as Monday Chukwuka for allegedly selling his one-day-old granddaughter for N700, 000.
While parading the suspect before newsmen, the spokesperson of the command, Adewale Osifeso, said Chukwuka was arrested in his hideout in Ibafo area of Ogun State, following credible intelligence report.
The police said, “On 10th July, 2023, an actionable intelligence report was received by a team of Police Operatives attached to the Command Monitoring, Oyo State about the ‘harvesting of a day-old baby girl’ from her teenage mother identified as Sarah Chukwuka in Oyo town and sale of the girl child to a criminal cartel that operates a baby factory in Abia State.”
Osifeso stated that upon intelligence-led interview, Chukwuka, father of the teenage girl who gave birth to the day-old baby girl, confessed to the crime and explained in details how he took the baby from her mother as soon as she gave birth under the pretext of handing over the baby to someone who would take good care of her.
“The suspect further explained in detail how he moved the day old baby to Abia State where he sold her to the owner of a baby factory located at Obehi, Okwa West in Abia State at the rate of sum of Seven Hundred Thousand Naira (N700, 000.00).
“Investigation activity was extended to Abia State and in the process of a coordinated raid on the baby factory, a female suspect identified as Popoola Bunmi and four other accomplices whose names are Chinwedu Peter, Chidinma Blessing, Chuckwu Christopher, and Favour Chukwu were all apprehended in connection with the criminal activity.”
Osifeso told newsmen that bundles of new birth certificates and some equipment for baby deliveries were recovered from the factory, adding that the suspects as at the time of apprehension were unable to give any satisfactory explanation about the parentage of the babies recovered from the factory.
The suspect (Chukwuka) said he decided to sell the baby because he can’t afford to take care of his teenage daughter and the baby, saying he used the money he collected after selling the baby to rent a shop and buy goods in it.
The teenage mother (Sarah) said she was not aware that her father wanted to sell the baby, adding that her dad only told her that he wanted to give the baby to someone to nurture for two years and then return the child after.
The suspected buyer of the baby, (Favour Chukwu) said she bought the baby following a request from a childless couple (name withheld), saying she was given N50, 000 as her share for the job.
