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 , 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.
Eluu said investigations were continuing to apprehend the
buyer of the girl who is now on the run.
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