The Ogun State police command has arrested a 33-year-old woman, Olaide Adekunle, for reportedly selling her 18-month-old baby to a yet-to-be-identified buyer for N600,000.
The suspect was apprehended when her husband, Nureni Rasaq, filed a complaint at Sango divisional headquarters, that his wife left home for Lagos on March 15, 2023, with their baby girl, Moridiat Rasaq, but returned home without the baby.
He said all attempts to find out what happened to the child were futile because his wife was unable to give any reasonable explanation for her disappearance.
Following the report, the DPO Sango division, CSP Dahiru Saleh, directed his investigators to go after the woman, who was quickly apprehended. Upon questioning, the suspect admitted to selling her kid to someone in Lagos for six hundred thousand naira (#600,000).
She said she sold the child because she took a loan from a microfinance bank, and when she was unable to repay it, the bank agents began harassing her and threatened to deal with her harshly.
As a result of this, she fled to Lagos and began selling sachet water. While hawking one day, she met a man who introduced her to the woman who eventually purchased the child in Lagos.
The state police command’s spokesperson, SP Abimbola Oyeyemi, who confirmed the arrest, said the acting Commissioner of Police, DCP Babakura Muhammed, has directed that the suspect be transferred to State Criminal Investigation Departments for further investigation and possible recovery of the baby.
