Officials of National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) have captured four women who allegedly sold a newborn baby for N1,500,000naira.
The women were displayed before newsmen on Thursday, September 3. According to NAPTIP officials, two of the women, Bernadette Ihezuo and Cecilia Onyema, are civil servants with the Federal Ministry of Finance Abuja, and Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, respectively. The third suspect, Okasi Ekeoma, is said to be Onyema’s sister, while the fourth suspect is the baby’s grandmother Harriet Nmezi who lives in Imo state.
According to NAPTIP officials, the teenage girl got pregnant while staying with her mother who then took her to Onyema’s house where she lived until she delivered her baby. Immediately after delivery, the other women took the child from the young mother and sold off the baby.
They were detained following a tipoff received by some members of the public.
The baby has been recovered while the suspects have confessed to the crime and will be charged in court