A suspect, Monday Chukwuka, has confessed to selling his one-day old grand-daughter for the sum of N700,000 to rent and stock a shop.
The suspect was apprehended by operatives of the Oyo State Police Command at his hideout in Ibafo area of Ogun State following credible intelligence report.
Monday, who was paraded at the state Police Headquarters, Eleyele, Ibadan, said he sold his grand-daughter to also stock the shop.
The suspect further said he could not afford to take care of his teenage daughter (the mother of the one-day old baby) and his grand-daughter.
Parading the suspect, the spokesman of the Command, Adewale Osifeso said: “On 10th July, 2023, an actionable intelligence report was received by a team of police operatives attached to the Command Monitoring, Oyo State.
“[The report was] about the ‘’harvesting of a day-old baby girl’’ from her teenage mother, identified as Sarah Chukwuka in Oyo Town and sale of the girl-child to a criminal cartel that operates a baby factory in Abia State.”
Osifeso said, upon intelligence-led interview, Monday, father of the teenage girl who gave birth to the day-old baby girl, confessed to the crime.
He added that the suspect explained in detail how he took the baby from her mother as soon as she gave birth under the pretext of handing over the baby to someone who would take good care of her.
“The suspect further explained in details, how he moved the day old baby to Abia State where he sold her to the owner of a baby factory located at Obehi, Okwa West in Abia State at the rate of sum of N700,000.00.
“Investigation activity was extended to Abia State and in the process of a coordinated raid on the baby factory, a female suspect identified as Popoola Bunmi and four other accomplices were all apprehended in connection with the criminal activity.
“The names of the four accomplices are Chinwedu Peter, Chidinma Blessing, Chuckwu Christopher, and Favour Chukwu,” Osifeso added.
The Oyo Police spokesman said bundle of new birth certificates and some equipment for baby deliveries were recovered from the factory.
He added that the suspects, as at the time of apprehension, were unable to give any satisfactory explanation about the parentage of the babies recovered from the factory.
The suspect (Monday) said he decided to sold his grand-daughter because he cannot afford to take care of his teenage daughter and the baby.
He said he used the proceed of the criminal selling of his grand-daughter to rent a shop and buy goods in it.
The teenage mother, Sarah, said she was not aware that her father wanted to sold the baby.
She also said her father only told her that he wanted to give the baby to someone to nurture and that he would return her after two years.
The suspected buyer of the baby, Favor Chukwuka, said she bought the baby following request from a childless couple (name withheld).
She further disclosed that she was only given N50,000 as her share of the job.
