As soon as the midwife placed the newborn baby in Happiness Monday’s arms, a nurse quickly took the baby away, exchanging it for a wad of Naira notes with a stranger. Both Happiness and the midwife are now in police custody in Rivers State, following a tip-off about a baby-selling operation in Rumuokwurusi town.
Happiness Monday, driven by poverty and abandonment, explained she sold her baby for N400,000. “I came from Akwa-Ibom to hustle in Port Harcourt. I was living with my man friend until he disappeared, and his mother refused to help. Desperate, I asked the nurse to find someone to take my baby. She found a buyer for N400,000. I used the money to rent an apartment, pay off debts, and planned to start a business.”
The midwife, Success Igwe, admitted it was her first time facilitating such a sale, keeping N50,000 for delivery charges. Police also rescued a 17-year-old pregnant teenager from the location. The teenager, Margret Okonide, from Akwa-Ibom, struggled to communicate in English, making it difficult to gather more information from her.