Doctor And Two Others Arrested For Selling Baby In Lagos (Photo)

THE Lagos State Police Command,
yesterday arrested three persons,
among them, a trado-medical doctor,
over alleged theft and sale of a two-
week old baby.

The state Commissioner of Police (CP),
Mr. Fatai Owoseni, who paraded the
suspects yesterday at the command
headquarters, Ikeja, identified the
trado-medical doctor as Onolaja
Olawale and the two suspects as Mr
and Mrs Ayogbinle.

He said that the traditional doctor
was instrumental to the sale of the
baby, while the couple, were the
buyers.
According to him, Dr. Olawole
allegedly sold the baby to the couple
for N136,000.
Mr. Owoseni who identified the
child’s parents as Idiatu Babatunde
and Akinola Babatunde said the
trado-medical healer was
instrumental to the sale of the baby.
The couple, after paying N136,000 to
him, took possession of the baby.
The couple and the doctor have been
arrested and the baby reunited with
her mother.”

In his confessional statement, the
traditional medicine practitioner
admitted collecting N136,000 from Mr.
And Mrs Ayogbinle, but said that the
money was meant to facilitate the
procurement of papers to adoption
the baby from the Lagos State
government.

He said: “The mother of the baby
came to me to say that she would be
going back to Ofa Polytechnic where
she is schooling, to process her
National Youth Service Corps (NYSC)
documents and that she would be
away for two weeks. She appealed to
me to assist in taking care of the child
while she was away.

“We are family friends. Since my wife
was also breast-feeding, I decided
that we should take custody of the
baby pending when she would return
from school.

However, I have known Mr. And Mrs
Ayogbinle for some years and I know
that they are in dire need of a child.
The woman has been suffering from
miscarriages for several years. I sold
the idea of adopting the baby to
them. They gave me N130,000 to
procure all relevant documents
before I was arrested,” he said.
On her part, Oluwakemi Ayogbinle
who also mitted buying the baby,
blamed her landlord for reporting the
matter to the police.

She said the bubble burst when her
landlord who knew that she was not
pregnant was shocked to discover the
two-week old baby in her custody.
“My landlord who knows that I was
never pregnant, not to talk of giving
birth to a two-week old baby,
reported the matter to the police.” If I
had been able to procure the
documents, I would have taken good
care of the baby. I need a baby.
The CP said the suspect would soon
be charged to the court soon.