A 23-year-old woman, Mary Olatayo, has been detained by the Ogun State Police Command for reportedly selling her three-week-old child for N600,000. Abimbola Oyeyemi, the command’s police public relations officer, revealed this in a statement on Thursday. According to Oyeyemi, the suspect was detained after the baby’s father filed a complaint. The PPRO claimed that the father reported the incident to Mowe divisional headquarters. He claimed that he met Mary Olatayo sometime ago and they started dating each other.
The statement reads: “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 hook-up 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 N600,000. 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 further 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 Departments for further investigation.
“The CP also directed that everything possible must be done to recover the baby.”
