The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), Uyo Zonal Command, Akwa Ibom State, has said it is holding a woman in custody for selling her three-month-old baby.
The Uyo Commander of NAPTIP, Mrs Tina Ugwu, who noted the high incidence of selling of babies in the state, said human trafficking was prevalent in the state because of its border with Cameroon.
Mrs Ugwu explained that the woman sold her baby because she was confused about the paternity of the child, especially when her boyfriend denied paternity on claims that the child did not look like him.
She said, “We have a case from the Department of State Services (DSS) that we’re currently battling with. It is a transferred case that borders on selling of a child.
“The mother of the child decided to sell her baby because she felt she was deceived. She had a son for a man who was her boyfriend who she was living with, but when she had the second baby, the man said the baby didn’t look like him, hence that she had to tell him where she got the pregnancy from.
“She said before the birth of the baby, at some point, because of the maltreatment the man gave her, she was pressured to sleep with another man where she worked. And that she wasn’t sure who the father of the baby was.
“Hence that she decided to get rid of the baby and started looking for a buyer and got someone who assisted in getting a buyer.”
The NAPTIP boss revealed that some women were also made to get pregnant just for the babies to be sold, adding that the agency had in custody another person involved in such act.
She further said the agency was handling a case where a man impregnated his girlfriend and sold off the baby without her knowledge; only for the mother to be told that her baby was dead.
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