By George OPARA
Lagos state Police Command has nabbed a medical doctor, a traditional birth attendant and the parents of a newborn baby over the alleged sale of the newborn.
Spear News Nigeria gathered that the 28-year-old mother and her boyfriend agreed to trade the baby for N2.5 million but only received N700,000 from the buyer.
But disagreement over the payment caused the secret deal to be exposed.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the parents allegedly decided not to keep the baby and sought individuals who could facilitate the sale of the child after birth.
Intermediaries reportedly linked the couple to a prospective buyer in Ikorodu, Lagos State.
The pregnant woman was initially taken to a traditional birth attendant for delivery.
However, complications during labour necessitated her transfer to a private hospital in Ikorodu, where the principal suspects, a medical doctor, performed a successful Caesarean section that saved the lives of both the mother and the child..
The arrangements for the sale of the newborn were concluded within the hospital premises shortly after delivery, and the baby was handed over to an unidentified buyer for N2.5 million.
The buyer, however, remains at large.
The Commissioner of Police in Lagos State, Fatai Tijani, directed that the case be transferred from Area E Command, Festac, to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) for further investigation.
The investigation into allegations of conspiracy, child stealing and trafficking is being handled by the Anti-Human Trafficking/Gender Unit of the SCID under the supervision of the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of the department, Dayo Akinbisehin.
A police source told NAN that efforts to trace the buyer were unsuccessful, as the address and telephone number supplied were discovered to be false.
“The information supplied by the person who took the baby turned out to be false. The address could not be traced and the phone number was incorrect.
“The baby’s mother had initially consented to the arrangement. However, the deal went sour after she allegedly received only N700,000 out of the agreed N2.5 million payment.
“The matter came to light after the woman raised concerns over the unpaid balance. Some non-governmental organisations later became involved and reported the matter to the police, triggering an investigation”.
A reliable source said the 31-year-old medical doctor, the baby’s parents and the traditional birth attendant are currently in custody and will be charged in court upon the conclusion of investigations.
The police source said efforts were ongoing to arrest the buyer and rescue the baby.
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