Comfort Isaac
Akwa Ibom State Police command said it has rescued a two day old baby allegedly sold by mother, Blessing Walter and grandmother Grace Walter in Oron local government area of the state.
In a statement by the Police Public Relations Officer in the State, DSP Timfon John on Monday, the suspects sold the baby at the sum of N800,000.
The PPRO said operatives also apprehended the syndicates that were involved in trafficking the child.
She said the suspects apprehended have been taken into custody while the baby rescued has been taken to the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Welfare in Uyo for care and custody pending the conclusion of the ongoing investigation.
The statement in parts, “The operatives of the command while on patrol along the Nsit Atai/Oron Road, intercepted a Mazda vehicle with registration number YAB 454 AA. The vehicle was driven by one Bethel Anyanwu, a male, and had two female occupants along with a two-day-old baby.
Upon interrogation, the occupants could not provide a satisfactory explanation regarding the infant.
“Following a series of interrogations one Nasikpo Sonia Labere, a female, and Inemesit Okin Akpan, a female, confessed to being sent from Port Harcourt, Rivers State, by one Waazor Godwin, a female, and one Lilian Duru, a female, to collect the baby from one Miss Grace Inyang in Oron.
‘Further investigation led to the arrest of one Alison Eduno, who facilitated the connection between the buyer and the seller. The grandmother and the mother of the baby, identified as Grace Walter, a 55-year-old female, and Blessing Walter, a 20-year-old female, both residing in Oti Oron, were also apprehended. They confessed to selling the baby for the sum of eight hundred thousand Naira (₦800,000).”
