Lawrence Nwimo, Awka
A middle-aged woman has blamed economic hardship occasioned by the removal of petroleum subsidy for selling her three-month old grandson in Nnewi, Anambra State.
The woman identified as Oluchukwu Nwosu, was apprehended after she sold the third child of her daughter for N50,000.
She said her daughter had abandoned the babies for her to take care of after conceiving them out of wedlock.
Pleading for forgiveness, the suspect said, “This is the third time my daughter Ijeoma had conceived out of wedlock.”
She said the other two sons were being cared for by the state community children’s home in Awka.
“Due to our poor income we’ve had trouble feeding right from the time my daughter gave birth to the first baby.
“We had no other option than to take the kids to motherless babies home, especially when our daughter refused to tell us who was responsible for her pregnancy.
“I came across a buyer, one Tochukwu Asiegbu, who approached me, after bargaining, paid me the agreed sum.”
Confirming the incident, Commissioner for Women and Social Welfare, Ify Obinabo, said the three-month-old baby sold by the grandmother had been rescued.
She said the rescue followed report by the mother of the baby, Ijeoma Nwosu, who claimed her mother, forcefully sold her baby soon after he was born and had refused to disclose his whereabouts.
Obinabo added that those involved in the act had all been nabbed and handed over to the police for investigation and prosecution.
