The Enugu State Police Command, Tuesday, confirmed the arrested of an
18-year-old girl, Okike Ezinne from Isu Mbaneze in Ohaozara Local
Government Area of Ebonyi State for allegedly selling her one year and
six months old baby.
The teenage mother sold her baby identified as little Chisom Raphael for N300,000 (Three hundred thousand naira.)
According the spokesman of the police in Enugu State, SP Ebere
Amaraizu, Ezinne blamed her bosom friend for tricking her into selling
off her baby.
Amaraizu disclosed in the statement that the girl had the baby out of
wedlock and decided to keep it but was reportedly tricked to sell off
the baby by her friend, one Promise Godwin, a 20-year old single mother.
He said that the suspect narrated that when things were no longer
going smoothly for her at home, her bosom friend identified as one
Promise Godwin, also from Isu Mbaneze Ohazara Local Government Area of
Ebonyi State approached her to come to Enugu with the child with a
promise that somebody was going to take care of Ezinne and little Chisom
Raphael.
“According to Ezinne, she later joined the friend in Enugu where she
secured an accommodation at Coal Camp axis but later found out that the
friend has abandoned her husband and was into commercial sex work at
Four corners junction, Enugu to make ends meet.
“Sometime in the month of March 2016, Promise Godwin perfected the
purchase deal of little Chisom at the rate of N300, 000 with 46-year-old
Gloria Okafor from Uturu but married to now late Sunday Okafor of Umudi
Lokpanta in Abia State whose major occupation is to get and sell babies
to prospective buyers within Uturu, lokpanta and its environs,” the
police spokesman said.
Amaraizu said that police gathered that following the establishment
of the sales understanding between Ezinne and Promise with Gloria
Okafor, little Chisom Raphael was taken to Limca bus stop at Okigwe, Imo
State, along Enugu Port-Harcourt Expressway, Okigwe where Chisom was
sold to Gloria Okafor at the rate of N300, 000 and money given to the
mother of Chisom in cash.
“On coming back to Enugu, the suspects shared the money as
follows:N200, 000 to Ezinne, the mother of the sold child, N50, 000 to
Promise, while the remaining N50, 000 went to the motorcyclist working
with Godwin Promise at the Four Corner Brothel where she is staying”, he
added.
According to Amaraizu, Gloria Okafor, having been nabbed, revealed
how she bought the child from the duo of Ezinne and Promise but
maintained that the child was later handed over to the buyer that same
day and that the buyer was now at large and further revealed that Godwin
Promise, who is already 8-month pregnant and also with a child of one
year and a month, has also perfected arrangement to sell off the baby
whom she named Chiadikaobi to a prospective buyer before they were
nabbed by the operatives of the Central Police station of the Nigeria
Police, Enugu State command.
“Suspects are now helping police in their investigations and begging
for forgiveness but however blamed the situation to act of satan.
“Meanwhile, the state Commissioner of Police, Emmanuel Ojukwu, has
advised youths to know the type of friend they keep in order to become
meaningful to themselves and the entire society,” the PPRO noted.