Olawale Omolaja
(below) was arrested by men of the Lagos State Police Command for selling a
week-old baby for N300,000 to a childless couple. Omolaja was arrested along
with a couple Dele and Radiat Onogbile, following a tip-off. He reportedly sold
the baby to the couple after they paid him N136,000 as an advance. Left is the
biological mother of the baby sold!
The cat was let out
of bag after the couple’s landlady in the Mile 12 suburb of Lagos discovered
that the woman had a new born baby without being pregnant. She was said to have
notified the Ketu Police Division of the suspicious presence of a new born baby
in the couple’s home. Upon interrogation, it was discovered that Mr Omolaja,
billed the couple N300,000 for the baby.
Further investigation
revealed that the baby’s mother, Idiat Babatunde, a student at the Offa
Polytechnic in Kwara State, initially claimed said she gave Mr Omolaja her baby
in order to go and complete her clearance in school; it appears she knew about
the sale of her child. Idiat, 39, claimed she left the baby in Mr Omolaja’s
care because he’s a doctor and a friend to her husband.
It was also gathered
that Idiat collected N70,000 from the 136,000 before leaving for school. She
was said to have given the baby up because her supposed husband, Akiola,
abandoned her after impregnating her and relocated to Rivers State.
Unable to fend for
the child a week after it was born, she handed over the baby to Mr Omolaja, who
has been the Onogbile's doctor since 2009. Their marriage was at
the brink of collapse as a result of childlessness and that they were separated
until the baby was handed over to them on September 14. Idiat said:
"I gave birth in
September 5 and on September 13, I gave the baby to Dr Omolaja because I needed
to go back to school in order to complete my clearance so that I can go for
National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) with the next batch. I gave him the baby
because I was having issues with my husband and we have been separated. I
planned to spend two weeks in school and two weeks in Lagos but that same week
that I went to school, I received a call that I should come and identify my
baby at Ketu police station. I was surprised because I did not know what my
baby could be doing in Ketu."
The childless couple
said they repeatedly asked Mr Omolaja about the mother of the child but he told
them that the baby's biological mother was dead. Police say all the arrested
persons will be charged to court immediately after the current Sallah holidays.
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