Why I sold my son for ₦1.5m — Mother
A 22-year-old woman, Faith Sunday, was arrested in Lagos for child trafficking after confessing that she sold her one-year-old child for ₦1.5 million to escape hunger.
Faith was apprehended along with seven other members of a child-trafficking syndicate by detectives from the Zone 2 Police Command headquarters in Onikan, Lagos, led by Ngozi Braide.
In her confession to the police, Faith stated: “I sold my son in September 2024 to a buyer through Mrs. Ibezim Chioma and one Sunday Okputu. The buyer, who lives somewhere in the Alissa area of Ikeja, paid ₦1.5 million. Hunger forced me to sell my child to the syndicate. I want to invest the money in a business.”
The Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of the Zonal Anti-Crime Unit, Zone 2, Onikan, Lagos, DCP Ajao S. Adewale, who paraded the suspects over the weekend, confirmed that the arrest followed intelligence received by the Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG), Adegoke Fayoad.
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Adewale explained that, acting on the report, the Zonal Anti-Crime Unit launched an operation, which revealed that the syndicate specializes in the buying and selling of newborn babies, toddlers, and children of various ages.
He identified the key players in the syndicate: Sunday Okputu, the supplier of the children, and Ibezim Chioma, the go-between. The duo sought potential buyers for their illegal business. He also mentioned Mrs. Chinasa Echellibe, the caretaker of the children, who cared for them while awaiting prospective buyers.
Adewale confirmed that several buyers were arrested by operatives from the zone, led by Ngozi Braide. He added, “Five children were rescued from the syndicate. One-year-old Marvelous Obi was sold to Ibezim Chioma when he was barely one week old. Chioma resold him to Mrs. Ken Obi and Mrs. Appulus Marina Oluchi, who is currently in Italy, but the child was kept in the care of Chinasa Echellibe, the syndicate’s caregiver.
“Three-year-old Promise Ifekwuna was sold for ₦500,000 to Mrs. Ifekwuna Ngozi by Mr. Sunday Okputu, the ring leader, sometime in 2021. Somtochukwu was found under the care of Nwakuba Helen Chinyere, who claimed she was just a nanny employed by her younger sister, Caroline Enwereji, who resides in California, USA.”
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