Ogbonna Chukwudi , 27, a tricycle operator and resident of Cool Park Street, Ogbo Hill, Aba, allegedly sold his only son few hours after his wife put to birth in a private birth centre also in Ogbo Hill. And according to the Police Commissioner, Adamu Ibrahim, the suspect had arranged with the nurse who operated the centre and a buyer was contacted.
He said:
"The incident took place on June 18, 2014. Luck, however, ran out on them when the wife woke up and sought to see her baby. She was told by the husband that the baby was dead and had been buried."The commissioner said trouble ensued when the wife insisted that the grave of her baby must be shown to her which made the man threatened to kill her. A neighbour who overheard them alerted the policemen who intervened and later arrested the man and the accomplice-nurse, one Amarachi Chiamaka.
Further investigations, according to police led to the tracking down of the buyer .
"A preliminary investigation revealed that the suspect is a tricycle operator and was conveying the woman to a nearby bush where he intended to kill her," the commissioner said. He added that investigations were still on to recover the baby. But the suspect, who confessed to the crime, blamed it on poverty. He added that his friend who sold the son for him shortchanged him as he (the friend) only gave him N140,000 out of the N500,000 proceed and bolted away with the balance. There was, however, a mild drama as the nurse insisted that the deal was with the consent of the mother of the baby, adding that she had also previously sold her first baby. But the young woman denied the allegation, raining curses on the nurse.
She also tried to absolve her husband of any blame, heaping everything on the nurse. Unknown to her, the husband had already admitted his wrongs earlier while chatting with journalists. When she was told that her husband had confessed to the crime she became silent.
