Ebonyi Govt Responds to Baby-Selling Allegation

The Ebonyi State Government has reacted to reports alleging that state officials and operatives of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) colluded with the police to cover up the alleged sale of a baby for ₦25 million.

In a press briefing on Friday, the Commissioner for Information and State Orientation, Barr. Chief Ikeuwa Omebeh, said the matter had already been addressed in an earlier briefing on July 19, but the government was compelled to speak again following fresh publications.

According to Omebeh, the reports centred on accusations by the family of Nweze Philip Obasi from Umuobuna Etiti Uburu, Ohaozara Local Government Area, that NAPTIP officials in Abakaliki and the Ministry of Women Affairs were preventing the recovery of the child.

He explained that the Ministry of Women Affairs only became involved after the police presented the child for documentation. “The Child Rights Law of 2010 empowers the State Government to protect the welfare of the child and ensure a safe environment for their upbringing. It is the mandate of the Ministry to keep vulnerable children who need urgent attention in her custody for their survival,” Omebeh stated.

The Commissioner added that the baby’s mother had voluntarily relinquished the child. “The mother of the said baby gave up the boy for custody and possible adoption since according to her she was not financially and emotionally stable to keep the baby,” he said.

Omebeh assured that the case is under investigation to determine the child’s background, paternity, and circumstances of birth. “What the Ministry has done is to ensure that the child is kept where his welfare and security will be guaranteed pending the conclusion of the investigation. The outcome will determine the next line of action, and justice will not only be done but seen to be done, including sanctioning any staff of the Ministry found culpable,” he noted.

He reaffirmed Governor Francis Ogbonna Nwifuru’s commitment to child protection, stressing that the administration will not compromise on the rights and welfare of children in the state.