20-year old girl sells her baby because of money

MARIA Ekanem, a 20-year-old school
drop out from Odukpani Local
Government Area of Cross River State,
said yesterday in Calabar that poverty
and lack of where to stay after she gave
birth made her sell her two weeks old
baby girl for N20,000.
Maria, who was arrested by the police
along five other accomplices, said her
boyfriend who got her pregnant, asked her
to abort the baby but said a doctor
helped her with free antenatal care and
food until she gave birth.
This, she added, prompted her to agree to
sell the baby when arrangements were
made to sell.
Paraded along with Maria were a 55-
year-old medical doctor, Okokon Offiong
Okoho, the proprietor of Evangel Clinic,of
2, Atu Street; a 70-year-old matron of
Sadatoe Maternity located at Umoh Street
and a nurse at the maternity who
allegedly made the plans to sell the girl
to an Abuja-based lady who is now on
the run.
However, plans to sell the two weeks old
girl was leaked to the police by a Senior
Secondary Two girl of NYSC
Demonstration Secondary School, Calabar
, Maria Elemi, whose parents Maria was
living with after she delivered the baby.
“When I came back from school on
Monday, Maria told me she wanted to
take the baby to the parents of the boy
who impregnated her since she can no
longer cope with taking care of the baby,”
she said.
Maria said when they got to Fuller by
Inyang Street in Calabar South, they met
Mrs Elemi and her daughter in an SUV
car, adding that Maria gave the girl to
the matron who handed her over to the
buyer.
She said: “The woman gave Maria
N20,000 and asked her to pay the nurse
at the Evangel Clinic and use the rest for
herself.”
The girl said she became suspicious when
the driver of the SUV told the woman with
the baby that her husband said she
should take her to the airport to catch a
flight to Abuja .
“I started wondering why they should take
the girl to the airport when the boyfriend
to Maria and her parents live here in
Calabar,” Maria stated.
Cross River Police Public Relations
Officer, ASP John Eluu, who paraded
Maria along with the doctor and Matron,
said when information got to the police at
the Federal Housing Police Station,
detectives swung into action and arrested
the suspects.