A WOMAN, Mary Olatayo, who allegedly sold her three weeks old baby for N600,000, has been arrested by the police in Ogun State.
Public Relations Officer of the Ogun State Police Command Abimbola Oyeyemi disclosed this in a statement on Thursday.
Oyeyemi said the suspect was arrested following a complaint by the father of the baby.
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He explained the father reported the matter at Mowe divisional headquarters, narrating that he met Mary sometime ago and they started dating each other.
Parts of the statement read, “The man stated further that Mary got pregnant in the process and he rented an apartment for her where she lived till she was delivered of a baby boy.
“He complained further that the lady suddenly disappeared with the baby from the apartment three weeks after delivery only for her to be found in a hotel where she has gone for a hookup with another man.
“All efforts to know where the baby is proved futile.
“On the strength of his complaint, the DPO Mowe division, SP Folake Afeniforo, detailed detectives to the scene where the suspect was arrested and brought to the station.
“On interrogation, Mary Olatayo confessed to the police that she has sold the baby to someone in Anambra State at the rate of six hundred thousand naira.
“She confessed that it was her friend Chioma Esther Ogbonna who led her to the buyer in Anambra and that they both shared the money equally.
“Her confession led to the arrest of Chioma Esther Ogbonna who also corroborated Mary’s claims.
“Further investigation revealed that Mary Olatayo a native of Omu-Aran in Kwara State is a call girl, who sees the baby as a disturbance to her business hence she decided to do away with the baby.
“Fortunately for her, she has an accomplice in Chioma, a native of Imo State, who quickly contacted the buyer in Anambra State.”
The PPRO said the Commissioner of Police, Lanre Bankole, has ordered the transfer of the suspects to the anti-human trafficking and child labour unit of the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) for further investigation.
“The CP also directed that everything possible must be done to recover the baby,” the Ogun police spokesperson added.
Nurudeen Akewushola is an investigative reporter and fact-checker with The ICIR. He believes courageous in-depth investigative reporting is the key to social justice, accountability and good governance in society. You can reach him via [email protected] and @NurudeenAkewus1 on Twitter.