Bankole Taiwo, Abeokuta
The police command in Ogun says it has arrested a 23-year-old lady, Mary Olutayo at Mowe in Obafemi-Owode Local Government Area of the state for allegedly selling her three weeks old baby for N600,000.
Mary, a native of Omu-Aran in Kwara State according to police investigation is believed to be a sex worker who saw the baby as a disturbance, hence the decision to get rid of the baby.
SP Abimbola Oyeyemi, the State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), disclosed this in a statement issued in Abeokuta on Thursday.
Oyeyemi said that the lady was arrested on Aug.18.
He noted that the suspect was arrested following a complaint from the father of the baby, who reported at Mowe divisional headquarters that, he met Olatayo sometimes ago and they started dating each other.
The father of the baby stated further that Olatayo got pregnant in the process and he rented an apartment for her where she lived till she delivered the baby boy.
He explained that the lady suddenly disappeared with the baby from the apartment three weeks after delivery only for her to be found in a hotel where she has gone for a hookup with another man and that all efforts to know where the baby is proved futile.
According to the PPRO, the Divisional Police Officer (DPO), Mowe Division, SP Folake Afeniforo, detailed detectives to the scene where the suspect was arrested and brought to the station.
Oyeyemi stated that, on interrogation, Olatayo confessed to the police that she had sold the baby to someone in Anambra State at the rate of N600,000.
The police Spokesperson added that she confessed that it was her friend Chioma Ogbonna who led her to the buyer in Anambra State and that they both shared the money equally.
Her confession was said to have led to the arrest of Ogbonna who also corroborated Mary’s claims, Oyeyemi said.
The PPRO stated that the Commissioner of Police, CP Lanre Bankole, had ordered the transfer of the suspects to the Anti Human Trafficking and Child Labour Unit of the State Criminal Investigation Departments for further investigation.
He explained that the CP also directed that everything possible must be done to recover the baby.