The Akwa Ibom State Police Command have arrested Magnus
Nsikak, 40, and his wife Ruth for selling their three children for
N50,000 each.....
Nsikak and his wife allegedly conspired and sold their
three sons, three-day-old Samuel, five-year-old Ubong and 10-year-old
Ekpo to a trafficker in Aba, Abia State, through a nurse in Ikot-Abaji
Local Government Area of the state.
Ruth, however, denied being part of the transaction,
claiming that she was actually deceived by her husband into believing
that their children were being cared for by a member of their extended
family in Port Harcourt.
The couple are now in the custody of the Family Support
Unit of the State Criminal Investigation Department, SCID, Akwa Ibom
State Police Command, where they are being interrogated.
The Commissioner of Police, Mr. Zubairu Muazu, confirmed
that the eldest son, Ekpo has been recovered while efforts are being
intensified by detectives to track down and recover the other two.
Muazu disclosed that the incident came to light when the
younger brother of Ruth became curious about the sudden absence of the
children of his sister. He asked the brother-in-law, Magnus, about them
and got less-than-satisfactory answer from him.
"His further probe led to an altercation between them.
Magnus later confessed his evil deed. Ruth’s brother was incensed by the
horrific thing he heard and a fight broke out between him and Magnus.
He was said to have beaten his in-law black and blue." The Sun reports.
Ruth rushed to the Mkpat Enin Police Station to file a
complaint against her brother on October 23, 2017. In the course of
questioning to ascertain the facts, Muazu explained that the truth was
revealed and she was detained. Her husband was also arrested and the
case was transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department,
Uyo, Akwa State capital, from where the matter was handed over to the
Anti-Human Trafficking Section of the SCID on November 2, 2017.
Then November 9, Magnus led detectives to Aba, Abia State,
to arrest the nurse, Stella Uchendu, 40, who arranged the illegal deal.
She in turn took detectives to the home of Joy Ikechukwu, where Ekpo was
recovered.
Police detectives also arrested another suspect, Eucharia
Daniel, who bought the three-day-old baby for N300,000 naira from
Uchendu. He said that Uchendu passed on the baby to Joy Ikechukwu, who
resold the newborn child to Judith Solomon Charles, for N500,000.
Sunday
Sun further learnt that on the day that police detectives brought Joy
to her home, Judith was said to have slumped in shock. Detectives
quickly rushed her to a hospital, where she died.
Magnus told Sunday Sun that he sold his children due to financial problem.
Magnus told Sunday Sun that he sold his children due to financial problem.
“My first wife and I had six children. She had mental
problem and later died. Then I got married to Ruth in 2007 and we had
four children. This thing happened when I had financial problem. I sold
my three sons and left our daughter, Favour, who is five years old. I
sold each of them for N50,000 to Stella Uchendu. Whenever my wife’s
uncle and other people asked me about the children, I always told them
that I took the children to people who will help them. Later I confessed
to my wife’s uncle that I had sold the three children. That was when he
fought with me and beat me very well before neighbours rescued me. My
wife reported to the police.”
Contrary to her claims, Magnus insists that his wife knew
that he was selling the children, adding that after selling the
three-day-old baby, he gave her N20, 000 naira.
In her own account, Ruth, who married Magnus in 2007, denied any complicity in the sales of their children.
"My husband didn’t tell me that he sold our three sons. I
gave birth to four children – three sons and a girl, Favour, who is five
years old. My husband only told me that he took the three children to
his uncle in Port Harcourt to train them. One day, he dialed a number
and gave the phone to me to speak with his sister, who he said was
taking care of my three children.
"I remember that in September, this year, after I gave birth to a baby boy in the church, on a Thursday, my husband took the baby from me on Sunday
of that weekend and sold it. My husband and the nurse deceived me by
saying that the baby and I tested positive to HIV and so the baby was
taken away. Later my husband gave me N20,000 to eat food and recover
from the pregnancy.” She stated."
On her part, the nurse, Uchendu, admitted that Magnus had
informed her that he could no longer cater for his three sons and
expressed interest in selling them off. She agreed to buy the three
sons.
-The Sun
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