From Uchenna Inya, Abakaliki
The Ebonyi State government has supported the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development in the state to keep custody of a baby allegedly sold for N700,000 by the mother, Susan Nwanneka Nweze.
The woman’s family, in a petition addressed to the Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG), Force Criminal Investigation, Enugu on the matter, through their lawyer, Nzogbu Kingsley, alleged that some police officers attached to the Ebonyi State Police Command connived with the woman and sold the baby for N25 million, while a paltry N700,000 was given to their daughter, Susan.
The family also accused the police officers, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), NAPTIP, and the state Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development of having a hand in the sale of the baby and demanded that the baby boy be released to them, stating that the mother of the child has no right to sell the baby without their consent.
But addressing journalists on the matter, the state Commissioner for Information and State Orientation, Ikeuwa Omebeh, absolved the Ministry of Women Affairs of the crime.
Omebeh said the baby was in the custody of the ministry and that the ministry has the right to keep such a baby when it is in dispute.
“The attention of the Ebonyi State Government has been drawn to a media report. In the said report, the family of Nweze Philip Obasi from Umuobuna Etiti Uburu in Ohaozara Local Government Area of Ebonyi State has accused officials of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) in Abakaliki of colluding with the Ebonyi State Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development to prevent the recovery of a baby allegedly sold by police officers.
“Ordinarily, the State Government would have kept silent on the matter since agencies of government such as NSCDC, NAPTIP, Police, and Ebonyi State Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development, earlier accused of compromise on the matter through their agents, have taken turns to debunk the allegation; but for the love and care the Governor of Ebonyi State, His Excellency, Francis Nwifuru, has for children in the state and in tandem with the Child Rights Law of 2010, I have decided to brief the press on the matter.
“From the information at my disposal, the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development became involved in the matter when the police brought the baby for official documentation. The Child Rights Law of 2010 empowers the State Government to protect the welfare of the child and ensure a safe environment for their upbringing. It is the mandate of the ministry to keep vulnerable children who need urgent attention in its custody for their survival. The mother of the said baby gave up the boy for custody and possible adoption since, according to her, she was not financially and emotionally stable to keep the baby. The ministry is currently handling the matter based on extant law, and investigation is ongoing to ascertain the genuineness and circumstances surrounding the baby’s birth, paternity, and other incidents thereon.
“What the ministry has done is to ensure that the child is kept where his welfare and security will be guaranteed pending the conclusion of the investigation on the matter. The outcome of the investigation will determine the next line of action to be taken by the State Government, and I want to assure members of the fourth estate of the realm and indeed the general public that justice will not only be done but seen to be done, including but not limited to sanctioning any staff of the ministry found culpable on the matter,” Omebeh said.
On her part, the state Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development, Mrs Felicia Nwankpuma, said the ministry was not involved in the sale of the baby.
“I am shocked about the N25 million; I don’t know where that story is coming from. The child is with us, it is in the custody of the ministry to ensure that the baby is well taken care of. So, anything about N25 million, I don’t know where that story is from because no baby was sold. So, any story about N25 million, I don’t know. Nothing of such happened,” she stated.
The mother of the baby, Susan Nwanneka Nweze, said she sold the baby immediately after the delivery because she cannot take care of him because of hardship.
She lamented her arrest by the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps in the state over the matter, stressing that she is the mother of the child and she has the right to sell the baby or not.
The woman also expressed sadness at the way her name was being dragged through the mud over the matter and threatened to tarnish the image of the security agencies exposing her on the matter to also taste what she was going through if they don’t allow her to be.
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