Police in Ogun have arrested a woman, Olaide Adekunle, for allegedly selling her 18-month-old baby at N600, 000 to a buyer in Lagos to pay a microfinance bank loan.
Adekunle, 33, was said to have been exposed by her husband, Nureni Rasaq, who reported the matter to the police at Sango area of the state, leading to her arrest.
A statement by the Police Public Relations Officer, SP Abimbola Oyeyemi, said Rasaq alleged that his wife left for Lagos on March 15 with their baby girl (name withheld) but did not return with her, neither did she give any reasonable explanation.
The statement stated further, “On interrogation, the suspect confessed that she has sold the baby to someone in Lagos at the rate of six hundred thousand naira (#600,000).
“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 said the suspect has been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department for further investigation and possible recovery of the baby.