22-year-old mother arrested for selling baby; buyer insists on keeping child

A twenty-two-year-old girl, Chinelo Huma, has been arrested by the Anti-Human Trafficking Unit of the Enugu State Police Command for selling off her one-month-old baby for N430,000. She was arrested alongside three other women, Nkechi Ugochukwu, Maria Asomba and Esther Obi, who allegedly played roles in the sale of the baby. Enugu State Commissioner of Police, Mr Mohammed Adamu who disclosed this to pressmen said Huma got pregnant while engaged in prostitution. Adamu explained that 43-year-old Ugochukwu, who bought the baby, had for long desired to have a child of her own but was unable to conceive. The arrangement to source the baby was facilitated by one Esther Obi, who nursed the newborn for two weeks before handing her over to Ugochukwu. The Commissioner of Police further revealed that Asomba, 35, specialized in recruiting pregnant ladies that were willing to dispose of their babies after giving birth. Although the baby has been rescued, the 22 year old does not want to do anything with her. Moreover, Ugochukwu (the baby buyer) was reluctant to hand over the baby as she had led her neighbours to believe she had given birth and would feel deeply embarrassed, given that she had made arrangements for the baby that had already been named Chinasa. Expressing her pain at the turn of events, Ugochukwu lamented: “I have been barren for years and I needed a child. My husband’s kinsmen have been maligning and making jest of me because I don’t have a child. I borrowed N430,000 to buy the child; my husband is aware of the baby. The baby was brought to me on April 17, 2014. When I took the baby to my compound, all my neighbours congratulated me over the new baby; policemen came and took the baby from me. I don’t want my money back. I need the baby. I have named the baby Chinasa and I am already planning to dedicate her in church.”