‘Hardship pushed me,’ says Lagos man who sold sister’s baby for N2m

By Deborah Akpede

A 30-year-old Lagos man arrested for selling his sister’s one-month-old baby for N2 million has blamed hardship for his decision.

The suspect, a resident of Igbogbo in the Ikorodu area of Lagos state, claimed that he sold his younger sister’s baby to fund their mother’s burial.

The mother of the baby reported the incident to the police leading to the arrest of the suspect.

“Hardship pushed me to commit the act. My sister agreed to the idea,” the suspect said while confessing to the act.

He claimed he met the woman who bought the baby on Facebook.

“I met the woman who is in need of a child on Facebook, and after negotiations, she asked me to bring the baby to Mile 2.

“I went to the location with my sister, where a man sent by the buyer collected the baby and the woman transferred N2 million to my account,” he said.

The suspect said he gave his sister N500,000 out the money and used the balance to organise their mother’s burial.

He said after the burial, his sister demanded the return of her baby, alleging that he used charms on her to convince her to sell the child.

“My sister later said she was not aware of the sale and reported me to the police which led to my arrest,” he said.

The suspect said he did not know the buyer personally and had no information about her address, adding that her phone number had not been reachable since the purchase.

The Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of SCID, Mr Dayo Akinbisehin said investigations into the case were ongoing.

Akinbisehin said that the suspect would be charged to court upon conclusion of investigations.

The Commissioner of Police in Lagos State, Mr Olohundare Jimoh, has ordered the transfer of the case to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Panti, for further investigation.

(NAN)