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Olaide Adekunle, 33, was apprehended by the Ogun State Police Command for reportedly selling her 18-month-old child for N600,000 to pay off a bank loan.
According to reports, Olaide, who resides in Sango in the state's Ado-Odo/Ota Local Government Area, traveled to Lagos to sell the child to an unnamed bidder.
Abimbola Oyeyemi, the Ogun State Police Public Relations Officer, revealed this in a statement on Monday. She said she was arrested by officers of the state Police Command in response to a complaint made by the woman's husband, Nureni Rasaq, at the Sango divisional headquarters. She added that the husband reported that his wife left their home on March 15, 2023, for Lagos with their baby girl, Moridiat Rasaq, but returned home without the baby.
The PPRO also reported that the spouse said that his attempts to find out what happened to the infant were unsuccessful since she was unable to provide any plausible explanation for the child's whereabouts.
"In response to the report, DPO Sango division CSP Dahiru Saleh assigned his investigators to track down the person in question, and she was soon taken into custody.
"During questioning, the suspect admitted that she had sold the child for N600,000 to a person in Lagos.
She explained that she had borrowed money from a microfinance bank and that when she was unable to pay it back, the bank's agents began dragging her and threatening to deal with her harshly.
"As a result, she rushed to Lagos and began selling sachet water.
She encountered a man while hawking, and he introduced her to the Lagos-based mother who ultimately purchased the child.
Oyeyemi revealed that DCP Babakura Muhammed, the acting commissioner of police, had ordered the suspect's transfer to the state criminal investigation department for additional inquiry and potential baby retrieval.
