‘My mother sold my baby for $1,600′

A woman in Cross River state has been arrested by
the police after her daughter reported her for selling
her baby or N253,000(about $1,600)
Miss Ndidi Nkwegu, alleged that her mother sold her
baby daughter to a child trafficker, who has also been
nabbed, in the neighbouring Ebonyi state, after she
sold the baby at a bigger price to another 'baby
business tycoon' based in Abuja.
"When I came back home and asked my mother for
the whereabouts of my daughter, she couldn't tell
me anything reasonable.
"I discovered that she had bought so many things
which she never had before; actually, my mother was
never happy with me when she discovered that I was
pregnant, prior to my giving birth to my baby girl.
"I had to call the police; my mother is now in police
detention in Cross River State.
"After interrogation, the police discovered that she
was the one who sold my baby to a woman who is a
child trafficker," she told newsmen.
Illustration: a baby
The case blew open after the the Ebonyi State
command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence
Corps (NSCDC) arrested four persons allegedly
engaged in child trafficking.
They were paraded Friday.
Mrs Ego Echendu, the Commandant of NSCDC in
Ebonyi, told a news conference at the NSCDC
Headquarters in Abakaliki, said that the suspects
were arrested on Thursday in Izzi Local Government
Area of Ebonyi.
"Yesterday we were able to arrest some suspects we
have been trailing and monitoring for about one
month now; they are involved in child trafficking," he
said.
Civil Defence Corps: the men nabbed the traffickers
"The Traffic Unit of the Command foiled the suspects'
plot to convey their victims out of the state. However,
other suspects are still at large but as soon as the
command completes its investigation, the case
would be transferred to the agency responsible for
such matters,'' she said.
Echendu said that one of the traffickers was a dealer
in the child trafficking business while the other
suspect was a buyer.
"We had to strike yesterday following the information
that reached us.
"The buyer was about to move to Abuja to sell the
baby to another set of people for a higher amount;
the information we got was that the baby was bought
at the cost of N253, 500.
"We are tiding up our file. As this is not one of our
core mandates, we are going to transfer the case to
the agency saddled with such responsibility," she
said.
Echendu said that the suspects had confessed to the
crime, adding that they also divulged information on
some of their accomplices.
"The dealer is Blessing Nwilo, a teacher in Sharon
Secondary School, Abakaliki, but she hails from
Enugu; the buyer is Ngboro Chikezie from Ohaukwu
Local Government Area of Ebonyi.
"She claims to be an Area Officer with the Ministry of
Education in Ebonyi," she said.