Woman confesses to selling her newborn baby for ₦400,000

A woman, identified as Happiness Monday, has confessed to selling her newborn baby for a sum of ₦400,000.

Monday made the confession following her arrest by operatives of Rivers State Police Command.

In an interview with Vanguard, Monday revealed that she was paid ₦400,000 for the sale of her baby.

When asked why she volunteered to sell her baby, the woman blamed her action on poverty and hunger.

Without access to education, employment, or social support, she said she was left with no other option but to sell her baby.

Her words: “I came from Akwa-Ibom to hustle in Port Harcourt. I was living on my own until a flood chased me out. I started living with my man friend. When I was pregnant, he asked me to leave the pregnancy. Later, he started accusing me of sleeping around with the pregnancy and denied paternity of the baby.

“In September 2023, he told me he was going for a job outside Port Harcourt but never returned. When I went to ask his mother of his whereabouts, she told me that she had not been on talking terms with her son for years. She said since her son didn’t accept the pregnancy, she won’t accept it either. Later, when the house rent expired, I went to an uncompleted building to stay. By the time I came back from antenatal one day, the owner of the uncompleted building had put a gate there and locked it. It was at that point I went to tell this nurse (pointing to the midwife) to help me get someone that would take my baby, since I didn’t have shelter or money to feed and clothe the baby. She told me she had somebody that would take the baby for ₦400,000.

"Immediately I was delivered of the baby, someone came and the baby was handed over to the person. I didn’t see the person’s face. I only told the nurse to assure me that the person taking the baby would take care of her and would not kill her. She said the nurse that brought the buyer said the person was a Pastor’s wife.

“Out of the ₦400,000, I rented an apartment, used some to pay the debt owed, and the balance of ₦160,000 was kept in the nurse’s account with the intention of establishing a business. It was because of this same hardship that made me take my three older children to the mother of their father back in the village. He left me for another woman because he didn’t pay my dowry.”

The suspect is expected to be charged to court for prosecution upon the conclusion of ongoing investigations.