Perm Sec, nurse in police net over alleged child trafficking

A Serving Permanent Secre­tary in the Bayelsa State Civil Service (names withheld) and a nurse in a private hospital located in Igbogene, Yenagoa have are now in police net over an alleged attempt to buy a new born baby.

The incident is coming barely two weeks after police detec­tives from Akenfa police station arrested two women for selling a newborn baby for N300, 000.

Investigations revealed that the senior civil servant and the nurse were arrested by a special team of anti-Vice Squad of the State Police Command over al­leged attempts to buy a newborn baby for N200, 000.

Checks indicated that the se­nior civil servant who is also a practicing Medical Doctor is the owner of the hospital in which the baby was delivered.

Saturday Sun learnt that the mother of the baby, 24 year-old Nnena Lawrence from Ebonyi state lodged the complaint at the police station leading to the ar­rest of the suspects.

According to findings, Miss Lawrence had gone to the hos­pital in the third trimester of her pregnancy and attempted to se­cure the service of the Doctor to carry out an abortion.

The Doctor was said to have refused due to the risk and in­stead allegedly offered to buy the baby if delivered with an offer of N200,000 for a female baby and the sum of N250,000 if it is boy.

Miss Lawrence was said to have been offered N27, 000 as deposit payment for feeding by the suspects to demonstrate their seriousness. However the agree­ment got twisted when after be­ing delivered of a baby boy, Miss Lawrence had a change of mind on the deal and when the hospi­tal refused to discharge her with the baby, she reportedly filed a complaint at the Igbogene Divi­sion of the Police.

A source at the hospital who pleaded for anonymity exoner­ated the suspects and the man­agement of the Hospital from the baby selling saga.

According to him, the senior civil servant was only trying to help the mother of the baby by taking the baby to the Welfare Department of the State.

The Spokesman of the State Police Command, Asinim Butswat who confirmed the development said investigation was ongoing to verify the claims of the mother of the newly born baby.

According to Butswat,'On the 4/2/2016,at about 1000hrs, one Nnena Florence of Igbo­gene Community, reported to the Police, that she delivered a baby on the 3/2/2016, at Surviv­al Hospital, Igbogene, Yenagoa.

'She stated that prior to the delivery, she had arranged with the Doctor and the Nurse of the hospital to sell the baby to one woman now at large, at the sum N200,000 only but upon deliv­ery of the baby, she changed her mind and refused to sell the baby as agreed. The Doctor and the Nurse are undergoing in­terrogation at Igbogene Police station while investigation is on-going'

A source close to the embat­tled Doctor however dismissed the story as plot by the Police to twist facts.

According to him, the Doc­tor has nothing to hide as he has written his statement to the Police and even went to show the Police detectives where the baby was kept at the State Wel­fare Department.

'The story is not true. The Doctor saw there would not be care for the baby after delivery and instructed that after delivery the child should be taken to the state Welfare department. In fact, as of the time the mother delivered, the Doctor was in the House of Assembly defend­ing the 2016 budget. He is not involved in any baby sale saga. The management of the hospital took the child to the state wel­fare department and when the mother got there she was told to go and bring two relatives. She now went to the Police to con­coct stories and the Police are also saying the hospital should have brought the baby to them. He has written his statement and everything is there.'