Mother, 22, charged with selling her three-month-old baby for N50, 000

A young mother, Blessing Udoh, 22, who allegedly sold her three-month-old baby for a paltry N50, 000 is cooling her heels in custody on the orders of an Ebute Meta Chief Magistrates’ Court in Lagos.

The Magistrate, Mr. Tajudeen Elias, yesterday ordered that the accused should be kept in Police custody pending her bail application. Udoh is facing a two-count charge of engaging in commercial sex and unlawfully trading a baby.

The accused, however, pleaded not guilty to the charge. According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Police Prosecutor, Kehinde Omisakin, told the court that the accused committed the offences on June 30, this year at 6p.m. in Abattoir area of Oko-Oba in Abule Egba, a Lagos suburb, adding: “The accused has been caught several times engaging in commercial sex.”

Omisakin alleged that the accused sold her three-month-old baby, Destiny, to Mr. and Mrs. Philip James, who reside at Oron, Akwa Ibom. The offences contravened Sections 142 and 276 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015 (Revised).

The accused, on conviction, faces 14 years imprisonment, according to the provisions of the law. The case has been adjourned until August 23 for hearing of the bail application.