By Jethro Ibileke
Two women, Nosa Iyere and Juliet Agboifo have been arrested and detained by Edo State Police Command, for allegedly selling and buying a nine day-old-baby girl.
Wilfred Nosa Iyere (62) was alleged to have sold the baby girl to Juliet Agboifo (45), at Ogida Quarters, Benin City.
The Command’s Public Relations Officer, SP Chidi Nwabuzor, who paraded the suspects, said Madam Iyere, a retired nurse, who operates a maternity clinic by the name, of Uyiosa Maternity, sold the baby to Agboifo, a petty trader, for the sum of N400,000.
According to him, “The Command, in an attempt to fight crime and criminality and make peace and tranquillity reign in Edo State, has made some achievements, which is the recovery of a nine-day-old baby stolen and sold by two suspects.
“The Divisional Police Officer of the Ogida Division, acting on credible information that a certain woman, by name, Juliet Agboifo, 45, was about to procure a child at the Teachers House area of Ogida, moved to the scene, arrested the woman, who led the detective to the seller, Wilfred Nosa Iyere.
“Both of them were taken to the station for further interrogation and upon preliminary investigation, this case was transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) of Edo State Police Command.
“As we speak the investigation into it has almost been concluded and shortly the suspects would be processed to court.”
Explaining his involvement, Iyere who admitted operating the maternity home, said that he had a lady, who gave birth to a baby girl at her facility.
According to him, “We have a lady who delivered in our facility by name Prosper Peter and said she doesn’t need the baby and they linked her with one of my nurses and they sold the baby to the woman at the cost of N400,000. I have been calling the mother, who said she was coming but I have not seen her.”
The buyer, Mrs Juliet Agboifo, admitted she actually bought the baby for N400,000 and also paid N20,000 for the discharge of the baby from the facility.
“I bought the baby from Nosa for N400,000 and paid for the discharge of the baby for N20,000, I have only one son, so I wanted to buy the girl to make it two,” she said.