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By News Desk
MOWE, Nigeria — Operatives of the Ogun State Police Command have arrested a 23-year-old woman, Mary Olatayo, alongside her accomplice for allegedly selling her three-week-old baby boy for N600,000 to resume sex work.
The suspect, a native of Omu-Aran in Kwara State, was apprehended by police detectives attached to the Mowe Divisional Headquarters following a formal complaint filed by the infant’s father.
According to official statements from the state Police Public Relations Officer, SP Abimbola Oyeyemi, the complainant explained that he was in a relationship with Olatayo and had rented an apartment for her, catering to her financial and medical needs throughout her pregnancy until she delivered the child. However, three weeks after birth, Olatayo disappeared from the apartment with the infant.
The child’s father subsequently located Olatayo at a local hotel, where she had reportedly returned to sex work. When she failed to produce the infant, the father alerted law enforcement officers, who promptly took her into custody.
During police interrogation, Olatayo confessed to selling the infant to an undisclosed buyer in Anambra State for N600,000 because she viewed the child as a disruption to her profession. She further implicated her friend, Chioma Esther Ogbonna, a native of Imo State, who facilitated the connection with the buyer and split the proceeds of the sale equally.
Police operatives subsequently arrested Ogbonna, who corroborated Olatayo’s confession during questioning.
The Commissioner of Police, Lanre Bankole, has ordered the immediate transfer of both suspects to the Anti-Human Trafficking and Child Labour Unit of the State Criminal Investigation Department for further investigation. Security agencies have launched a coordinated search operation to track down the buyer in Anambra State and safely recover the infant.
