Posted by By CHIKA OTUCHIKERE, Abuja on
A young mother's attempt to sell her two- week old baby boy for a paltry N20,000 after failing to raise N3,000 hospital bill has landed her, a midwife, a former motherless babies home supervisor and the alleged buyer in police net. They are being detained at Gwagwa Divisional Police Station.
A young mother's attempt to sell her two- week old baby boy for a paltry N20,000 after failing to raise N3,000 hospital bill has landed her, a midwife, a former motherless babies home supervisor and the alleged buyer in police net. They are being detained at Gwagwa Divisional Police Station.
Twenty-seven-year old Mrs. Stella Michael, an Edo State indigene, was rushed to Shalom Clinic in Akaraka, Gwagawa, an Abuja surburb, after she went into labour on May 6, 2005. Shortly after, she was delivered of a bouncing baby boy named Goodluck Godwin Michael.
When Stella gave birth, her husband, a prophet with the Cherubim and Seraphim church, was contacted, but was not able to pay the hospital bill and rescue his wife and little baby from detention in the hospital. While there, the nurse, who handled Stella's delivery allegedly approached her with the proposal to sell the baby since she could not pay the bill and take adequate care of the baby. Reluctantly, Stella agreed to the proposal and asked the nurse to look for a buyer.
The nurse, who had a ready buyer in mind, contacted one Mrs. Peace, a former supervisor with the Victory Motherless Babies Home, Karimo, who had initially approached her that one of her clients was in need of a male child.
Mrs. Peace, in turn, contacted her client, one Mrs. Emelda and informed her that they had seen a mother willing to sell her new born baby boy. Emelda, the child buyer, agreed to pay N20,000 for the new baby which Stella, the mother demanded.
Events took a different turn when Stella, who initially kept the deal away from her young sister, Miss Victoria Peters, opened up to her on the almost concluded plans to sell Goodluck. Victoria allegedly advised her to reported the matter to the police play along, while she.
At the point of exchanging the N20,000 for the child, the police had swooped on them and arrested all the parties, including the two- week old Goodluck.
Stella told Daily Sun her story: "My name is Stella Michael. This is my first child. I gave birth to him on 6th of May, on Friday. My husband could not afford the hospital bill and the nurse was threatening me that she would take my child to orphanage home.
"Then she told me there was a woman but looking for a child to buy. When she told me I said I could not do such a thing and she phoned the woman. Truly, the woman came and they discussed all these things. I said I didn't have the mind to do it.
"In the first place, she said she will give me N6,000. I didn't agree. Before they discharged me, I had to give my mattress out. So after they discharged me I told her that I was not interested in it. I went home.
"Yesterday morning, she had to come with the woman. They were kind of telling me the same story, but I told them that I did not have interest in it. They told me not to tell anybody, that I shouldn't tell my sister I'm living in her house. The woman went away.
"When she was going, my sister had to escort them. When my sister came home, she asked how the midwife, I knew this woman. I said she was nurse's friend. She asked me what she wanted. I told her. She told me to accept and play along with them. She asked me how much they wanted to give me, I said N20,000.
"The woman came back again, she said she would take care of me, that she would find work for me, rent house for me. She said I was too young to give birth, that I should give the child out so that I can enjoy my life."
The midwife, who allegedly mooted the idea of exchanging the child for money, gave her own story. "My name is Mrs Esther Duru, I come from Imo State I'm working at Shalom Clinic in Akaraka. I'm under somebody. This Madam Stella Michael was my patient. She registered in my clinic, then she delivered on 6th May. The time she came in she was in labour seriously. I asked of her husband, she said that her husband was not living with her, that the husband left her since she was pregnant. She said the husband warned her not to call him unless she delivered.
"I asked her to bring her requirement, everything was not complete. She told me to use my money to buy it, promising to pay me back. I stayed there until seven o'clock in the night when, the woman gave birth.
"God delivered her safely. Nothing happened to her and the child. I left her and went home. When I resumed work on Monday, I saw her in the ward. I asked her why she didn't go. She said that her husband refused to come and collect her. She told me that she wanted to leave the child, that the man was not ready to marry her. She asked if I knew anybody that will help her to pay the hospital bill so that she will stay with that person. I told her I did not know anybody except one woman who
told me she's working at motherless babies home. She asked me to help her contact the woman. I called the woman, Madam Peace, who told her that she had one woman that needed a child and was willing to pay her money".
Emelda, the buyer, confessed that she wanted to buy the new baby because her only son, a 15 years old lad, was away in school and she needed somebody to keep her company.
FCT Commissioner of Police, Mr. Emmanuel Adebay,o told Daily Sun through the police public relations officer, Mr. Ativie, that he received a distressed call from a lady complaining that some people wanted to buyer a new born baby
" I immediately dispatched my men from the Gwagwa police division who caught the suspects on the spot while they were about to exchange the baby for N20,000. The suspects would soon be sent to court."