Couple aiming to escape village life in Rivers sell day-old baby for N250,000
A couple in River States are desperate to do anything to survive, even if it means selling their newborn child.
Richard Benson and his wife, Chidinma, have been arrested for putting up their day-old baby for sale. They only collected a sum of N250,000 from the buyer, Rose Onyia.
The couple who welcomed the baby on October 7th said they only wanted to raise enough money to leave their village in Isiala Ngwa North LGA of Abia State to a town in either Portharcourt or Umuahia.
“We sold our baby to one woman (Rose Onyia). I have four children and one is late. The baby was one day old when we sold him for N250,000. I did it with my husband’s approval,” Chidinma said.
Benson is also quoted as saying: “My wife had a big sore in one of her legs and we needed money to treat the wound. At a point, my wife could not walk; that was when we decided to sell the baby boy after he was delivered.”
Deputy Commissioner of Police in the state, Benneth Igwe, said that the baby was sold to three different people for a sum of N250,000, and N550,000.
“Chidinma was delivered of a baby boy at Graceland Maternity Home, Afam. The maternity home is owned by a quack nurse called Grace Daniel,” he said.
“The couple were paid N250,000 by one Rose Onyia and the baby was later sold to one Eucharia Jaja from Omagwa for N550,000. Thereafter, the baby was sold by Jaja to a client in Lagos. Our operatives are on the trail of the last buyer to rescue the baby.”
Igwe said thirteen other traffickers were also arrested in Ikwerre and Oyigbo Local government.
“The operatives of IGP Monitoring Unit raided Afrique Hotel, Afam, in Oyigbo, Rivers State, and rescued six pregnant women. The hotel is used as a base by suspected child traffickers,” he said.
