- Police from the Isolo Divisional Police Station arrested them after a tip-off from the management of Isolo General Hospital
A 28-year-old laborer, Uchenna Eziekwe, and his wife, Chineye, have been arrested by police in Lagos for allegedly attempting to sell their two-year-old child.
The couple reportedly planned to use the proceeds from the sale to relocate to Canada in search of a better life.
Police from the Isolo Divisional Police Station arrested them after a tip-off from the management of Isolo General Hospital.
Both Eziekwe and his wife cited the current economic hardship in the country as the reason for their actions and pleaded for forgiveness.
Uchenna, while speaking to journalists, said, “It was a difficult decision, but we had no choice but to sell our baby. We felt it would be better to sell him to someone who can take care of him than to allow him to die of hunger.”
“The idea was mine. I convinced my wife, though it wasn’t easy,” Uchenna confessed when he was paraded at the Command Headquarters in Ikeja.
While parading the suspects at the state headquarters, the command’s spokesperson, Benjamin Hundeyin, said the couple reportedly declared their intention to sell their baby boy at Isolo General Hospital.
“On Tuesday, around 2:45 pm, the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in charge of Isolo Police Station received information that a couple went to Isolo General Hospital and declared their intention to sell their baby boy.
“Upon receipt of the information, operatives from the station moved swiftly to the hospital, where Uchenna Eziekwe, 28, and Chineye Eziekwe, 22, were about to sell their child.”
“The baby, a little boy aged 2, was rescued. Upon interrogation, the couple stated that they decided to sell the baby to enable the man to travel to Canada for a greener pasture,” he said.
Nigeria has witnessed a surge in a phenomenon colloquially known as ‘Japa Syndrome,’ which derives from the slang ‘Japa’, meaning to escape or flee, especially for a better life elsewhere.