Woman, hospital worker arrested over attempt to buy baby for N500, 000

Juliana Francis

Imaan Sulaiman Ibrahim

A Federal Civil Servant based in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State Capital,  Mrs. Wilson Erurom and an employee of First Fertility Hospital, Makurdi Benue State, Mr. Marksoo Uzer, have both been arrested for an employee of First Fertility Hospital, Makurdi Benue State  for allegedly attempting to sell and buy a baby for N500,000.

The suspects, along with two others, Albert Motemi and Gabriel Gav, were arrested in Makurdi, the Benue State capital through a combine effort of Operatives of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) and the Department of State Services (DSS).

According to Head, Press and Public Relations Unit NAPTIP, Stella Nezan: “During interrogation, the woman who is the intending buyer stated that she linked up with the suspect after listening to an advertorial in one of the broadcast stations in Yenagoa in which the man boasted of assisting people to get children either through in-planting, in -vitro fertilization or outright adoption.”

Erurom explained that because age was no longer on her side, she preferred outright adoption of infant and had subsequently paid N500, 000 for the purpose.

According to her, after the safe delivery of the baby in question, she received a call from the man urging her to come to Makurdi for the baby,

Erurom said: “When I got to Makurdi, I lodged in a hotel. The following day, I saw the man and he told me that the ‘surrogacy mother,’ suddenly changed her mind. I didn’t know what happened. As I was trying to find my way back to Beyelsa State the following day, I was arrested by men of the DSS and handed over to NAPTIP.”

The principal suspect, Uzer, who is suspected to have been involved in such illegal deal in the past, had also promised an officer of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) a baby after collecting N950, 000, and then refused to hand over the baby.

Uzer, who is an employee of First Fertility Hospital, Makurdi Benue State, said that he regretted his action, attributing it to financial pressure brought on him by the health challenge of his wife.

The Director General of NAPTIP, Imaan Sulaiman Ibrahim, while appreciating the inter-Agency collaboration existing between NAPTIP and the DSS, advised Nigerians to always ensure that due process was followed when confronted with issues of child adoption.

The NAPTIP boss promised that the case will be thoroughly investigated and charged to court.