In Anambra State, a woman identified as Mrs. Oluchukwu Nwosu, has allegedly sold off her three-month-old grandson for N50,000 without informing her daughter, Ijeoma, who gave birth to the child out of wedlock.
This development was disclosed in a statement on Sunday by Chidinma Ikeanyionwu, a media aide to the Commissioner for Women and Social Welfare in the state, Ify Obinabo.
Ms Ikeanyionwu revealed that the child has now been rescued by the commissioner, who also facilitated the arrest of the suspect by the police in the state.
She maintained that the rescue was in response to a report from Ijeoma, the child’s mother, who claimed 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 State Ministry of Women and Social Welfare, the offenders (seller and buyer) were caught,” Ms Ikeanyionwu said.
The statement given by the suspect, Mrs. Nwosu after her arrest, said that she was forced to sell the baby due to their low income and inability to care for the baby.
She emphasized that this was the third time her daughter had given birth to a child outside wedlock, adding that two other children- also males- were being cared for at an orphanage home in Awka.
Mrs. Nwosu said that they struggled to feed from the time her daughter gave birth to the child but a man, identified as Tochukwu Asiegbu, approached her and agreed to buy the child at the cost.
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.
Ms Uba, on her part, said Mr Asiegbu and Mrs Nwosu made the decision to deliver the child to Ms Egwuatu without the involvement of Ijeoma, the child’s mother.
The statement said all the “perpetrators of the act” agreed that the incident occurred about three months ago, adding that “the perpetrators” have been handed over to the police for “additional questioning and investigation.”
Reacting to the situation after the rescue of the child, the Commissioner for Women and Social Welfare in the state, Mrs Obinabo, expressed disappointment that illegal adoption was still happening in the state despite the state government’s efforts against it.
|Premium Times
