18-year Sold Her Baby For N20,000 In Suleja.

An 18-year old girl, Miss Blessing John, was
on Friday, arrested by the Police in Minna,
Niger state capital, for selling her two weeks
old baby girl to a 50-year-old woman, Mrs.
Chikodili Jude for the sum of N20,000 to
feed and clothe herself.
The sale of the baby to the second suspect,
who is also a widow, took place on Friday
January 20, few hours after the former was
delivered of the baby at the General Hospital,
Minna by medical personnel.
Sunday Tribune learnt that no sooner than
Blessing, who claimed to be an indigene of
Kwale area of Delta state, was delivered of
the yet unnamed baby girl, that she allegedly
expressed the desire to do away with the
child in view if the fact that she could no
longer locate one Emmanuel Sunday of
Mechanic bye-pass, Minna who impregnated
her, after he ran away in an attempt not to
claim the baby.
“Sunday and I met when I was working at
Kwetere Gwari mechanic village as an
attendant in a restaurant. He approached
me to be his girlfriend and I accepted his
proposal.
He later impregnated me after making love
to me. When I told him that I was pregnant
for him, he picked a quarrel with me over
the pregnancy and thereafter, I did not see
him again until I put to bed at the General
Hospital, Minna on January 18 this year,”
Blessing said in an interview with Sunday
Tribune.
She added: “I gave out my baby to Mrs.
Chikodili James to hold her for me and she
in return gave me N20,000 for feeding and
clothing because I did not have any money
at hand to feed and take care of myself. I
told her that whenever I am able to put the
amount she gave me together, I would pay
her back and take my baby to my state, and
she agreed.”
When she was asked whether there was
any written agreement between them to
that effect, she answered in the affirmative,
stating that the second suspect immediately
brought out a document for her so that they
could both append their signatures on the
memorandum of agreement.
Blessing, who informed Sunday Tribune that
she had been living in Minna since 2009,
noted that the second suspect allegedly
brought one paper for her to sign.
“I read the paper and I understood
everything that was written there. I signed
and said that if I had the money she gave
me, I would pay her and collect my baby
from her later.
“I did not finish my secondary school
education as I stopped at Senior Secondary
School III when I was supposed to sit for my
SSCE Ordinary Level and that of the National
Examinations Council but the school
authorities said I had to pay some money as
examinations fees which I did not have,”
she stated.
It was further gathered that the sale of the
baby was allegedly facilitated by one Mrs.
Martha Obialor, a 65- year-old woman
resident at 1010 area of Kwetere Gwari
community of the state capital, who was
also being detained by the police in
connection with the case, while the
memorandum of agreement was drafted at
the law firm of “Freedom Chambers” at SW
264, Yoruba road, Minna metropolitan area
by one Mike Ekemezie Esq.
The memorandum of agreement, a copy of
which is in the possession of the Sunday
Tribune, read thus: “This agreement is made
this 20th day of January between Blessing
John of Suleja, Niger state of Nigeria
(hereinafter referred to as DISCLAIMER,
which expression shall, where the context
so admits, include her heirs and successor-
in title) on the first hand and Mrs. Chikodili
Jude of Minna, Niger state of Nigeria,
(hereinafter referred to as CLAIMANT which
expression shall where the context so
admits include her heirs and successor-in –
title) on the second hand.”
Accordingly, the legal practitioner stated
among other issues that the disclaimer had
a female child at the General Hospital, Minna
and decided to do away with the child and
that the claimant agreed to take the child
and also give the disclaimer a token of
N20,000 to enable her (Blessing) to travel
back to her station, adding that both parties
now desire that their oral agreement be put
in writing to be legally binding and
enforceable to avoid any controversy in
future.
The Police Public Relations Officer, Niger
State, Mr. Richard A. Oguche, confirmed the
incident, stating that the first suspect, Miss
Blessing John transferred the ownership of
the two-week-old baby girl to the second
suspect, Mrs. Chikodili Jude, in return for
N20,000.