A two-day-old baby has been rescued by the Akwa Ibom State Police Command after being sold for ₦800,000 in a disturbing case of child trafficking involving the infant’s own mother and grandmother.
The police made the rescue during a routine patrol along the Nsit Atai-Oron Road on April 20, when officers stopped a Mazda vehicle (registration YAB 454 AA) carrying three adults and the newborn.
The driver, Bethel Anyanwu, and passengers, Nasikpo Sonia Labere and Inemesit Okin Akpan, were reportedly unable to explain their connection to the baby.
Upon questioning, Labere and Akpan confessed they had travelled from Port Harcourt to collect the baby on the orders of two accomplices, Waazor Godwin and Lilian Duru.
The child was handed over to them in Oron by Grace Inyang, acting on behalf of the baby’s mother, Blessing Walter, and grandmother, Grace Walter.
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Further investigation led to the arrest of Alison Eduno, identified as the coordinator of the illegal transaction.
According to police spokesperson DSP Timfon John, the suspects admitted the child was sold for ₦800,000.
All suspects are currently in custody at the State Criminal Investigation Department in Ikot Akpan Abia.
The rescued infant is now under the protection of the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Welfare in Uyo, pending further welfare assessment.
