A
20-year-old woman, Chioma Fidelis, has confessed to selling her two months old
son, Favour Fidelis, for a half bag of rice, three chairs, cement and the sum
of N200,000.
Speaking
to newsmen on Friday when she was paraded alongside her accomplices by the
police in Imo State, the 20-year-old woman said hardship and the circumstances
in which she got pregnant led her into the crime.
Fidelis who hails from Ehime Mbano Local Government
Area of the state, said that she had no other option but to sell the child
having realised that her baby was suffering from kwashiorkor, adding that she
had no husband to take care of her and the child.
Miss
Chidimma Unakalamba, who played the role of a middleman, had accepted that she
sold the baby boy to Mr. and Mrs. Jonas Anyanwu, who were in dire need of a
male child
Unakalamba
also explained that the baby was sold for N600,000 to the couple.
But
a mild drama ensued when the couple insisted that they paid N700,000 for the
boy child.
Unakalamba
owned up that he had to deduct N137,000 she spent on the child’s medical bills,
gave the mother N200,000 and pocketed the remaining proceeds from the
transaction.
The
police also paraded the lifeless bodies of the three suspected armed robbers,
who lost their lives in a gun duel with the police in Njaba Local Government
Area of the state on Thursday night.
It was learnt that the
police arrested five other criminals, including, a warden, Emmanuel
Anyadike, at the Owerri Federal Prisons, for allegedly working for the
gang from the prison.
Briefing
newsmen at the command’s headquarters in Owerri, the state capital on Friday,
the State Commissioner of Police, Chris Ezike, said that Temple Ogbonnaya, 21,
from Nkwa in Abia State, Ifeanyichukwu Victor, 21, and Okey Mgborogwu, 23, from
Obinwanne, Njaba Local Government Area of the state were shot dead by his men
of the command.
According
to Ezike, Emmanuel Anyadike, Obinna Ahanonu, Peter Vincent and Chidozie
Ohiaeriaku were apprehended alive.
He
said that the feat was achieved due to the effectiveness of the whistle-blowing
policy of his command, adding that his men were sharing information and mutual
intelligence with members of the public.
Ezike
said, “The mutual intelligence between us and the members of the public led to
these breakthroughs. We have made major reshuffle at the command, which is
equally bringing these successes.
“As
we are approaching the busy period of the year, the men of the underworld are
enforcing and we are seriously redoubling our efforts to make sure that we lock
the state against them.”
He
disclosed that one AK-47 rifle, 39 rounds of live ammunition, 47 magazines, two
locally made revolver pistols and three live cartridges were recovered from the
robbers.
Other
30 suspects were equally paraded by the CP for various crimes, ranging from
armed robbery, cultism, kidnapping and child trafficking.
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