In the Iyana Ipaja area of
Lagos, Nigeria the police arrested a medical doctor for the sale of a week old
baby for N300,000 without the mother’s consent.
The couple, Dele and
Oluwakemi Ayangbile, who had also been arrested by the police, allegedly paid
the sum to the native doctor before taking the baby to their apartment in the
Mile 12 area.
The mother of the baby,
29-year-old Idiat Babatunde, was a student of a polytechnic in Osun State, and
was preparing for her convocation when she was delivered of the baby on
Saturday, September 5 2015.
After the delivery, Idiat,
who had a quarrel with her husband, Akinola Babatunde, had taken the baby to
Onalaja, said to be a family friend, on September 13, and requested that he
kept the child for her, while she travelled to school.
Onalaja, who lived in Ikola
Odunsi Street in Iyana Ipaja, however, invited the Ayangbiles and sold the baby
to them for N300,000.
It was learnt that when
Idiat returned from school, Onalaja lied that the baby was in custody of a
government-owned orphanage where he would be properly taken care of.
Punch correspondent
gathered that the buyers, the Ayangbiles, took the week-old baby to their
rented apartment. But their suspicious landlord was said to have reported the
matter at the Ketu Police Division after the baby had been with the couple for
three days.
Punch correspondent learnt
that the police thereafter arrested the Ayangbiles, and also picked up Onalaja.
The wife, Oluwakemi, said
she had been barren since 2009 when she got married, adding that Onalaja, who
was a family friend, had earlier advised her to adopt a child.
She said, “I have known the
traditional doctor since 2013. I got married in 2009 and I used to have
miscarriages. It was while looking for treatment that I met him. In 2014, he
advised that I should adopt a baby, but I did not agree.
“Two Mondays ago, he called
me on the telephone and said I should meet him. He told me that he had a baby
at hand to give us, adding that he would obtain all the necessary papers. I
then discussed it with my husband and he said we should go for the baby since
Onalaja was going to get the papers. He did not tell us that the baby’s mother
was not aware of the transaction.
“I paid him N300,000, and
brought the baby home. But after three days, the police came to arrest my
husband and I. We have been barren for six years, and we need a child. We mean
no harm to the baby.”
Onalaja, however, told our
correspondent he collected only N156,000 from the couple, which was the sum to
process papers from the government ministry in Alausa.
He said, “The agreement
between the mother of the baby and I was that I would take the baby to an
orphanage. The mother agreed to collect the baby back after three months in
government’s custody.
“It is true that I
collected N156,000 from Kemi and gave the baby to her. I wanted to take the
baby to Alausa to register in an orphanage. But I was called on the telephone
that the couple was arrested by the police. That was how I was also arrested. I
do not sell babies. The mother is known to me.”
The mother of the baby,
Idiat, said she had a quarrel with her husband, who was away in Port Harcourt,
Rivers State, and she gave the baby to Onalaja, so she could concentrate on her
academics.
She said, “I had a quarrel
with my husband, and so he was not at home when the baby was born.
“I gave the baby to Onalaja
a week after while I went to school. It was when I returned that I realised
that my baby had been sold. But I am happy to be reunited with him.”
The Commissioner of Police,
Fatai Owoseni, said the baby had been reunited with the parents, while the
suspects would be charged to court.
A police source, however, said
that the mother of the baby did not know about the sale of the baby.
Punch
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