After three weeks of investigation, the
Monitoring Unit of the Criminal Investigation and Intelligence
Department of the Imo State Police Command has nabbed a couple for
allegedly selling their daughter, Chinecherem, for N400,000, a few hours
after delivery.
The couple – Ifeanyi, 35, and Emmaculata
Elijah, 30 – are indigenes of Amakpu- Umuba, in the Isiala Ngwa North
Local Government Area of Abia State. But they are residents of Irete, in
the Owerri West LGA of Imo State.
Other suspects said to have been
involved in the crime are Grace Mezu, 55, of Umuoba Uratta, in the
Owerri North LGA; Fedalia Ariri, 55, also of Umuoba Uratta; and Amarachi
Obiekwe, 49, of Osina, in the Ideato North LGA.
Parading them on Monday at the command
headquarters in Owerri, the state capital, the Police Public Relations
Officer, Andrew Enwerem, said the couple conspired on January 26, 2018, a
few hours after giving birth to the girl and sold her to Obiekwe,
through Mezu and Ariri.
Enwerem, who disclosed that the couple had given birth to seven children, said the whereabouts of two were still unknown.
According to him, the woman was
delivered of the baby at home, while the waiting buyers paid immediately
to take possession of the newborn baby.
The police spokesperson, who explained
that the baby was recovered on February 17 in Lagos State, said the Imo
State Commissioner of Police, Chris Ezike, had ordered that the matter
be charged to court at the end of investigation.
Enwerem said, “The innocent baby was
denied love and parental care immediately she was given birth to. The
parents conspired to take N400,000 instead of their daughter.
“The Commissioner of Police, who is
pissed off with this act of wickedness and crime against humanity, has
ordered that the wheels of justice and investigation be accelerated so
that the matter would be charged to court.
“Having found out that the mother of the
child was part of the conspiracy, the CP has ordered that the innocent
baby be taken from her and handed over to the Imo State Ministry of
Women Affairs and Social Welfare.
“The suspects have made confessional
statements and we are working to ensure that justice is served. The
Commissioner of Police advised that those who are in need of children
should go through legal means to adopt them.”
There was a mild drama when the couple and the other suspects started accusing one another.
While the three other suspects and the
child’s father, Ifeanyi, said the baby’s mother was part of the crime,
Emmaculata denied knowledge of it.
Speaking to newsmen, the woman who
allegedly bought the baby, Obiekwe, said she gave the couple the agreed
amount in their house.
The father of the baby, who confessed
that he traded his daughter for money, said the crime was planned and
hatched by himself and his wife.
He said he and his wife gave Mezu, who brought the buyer, N6,000 from the amount that was paid for the baby.
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