Police arrest couple for allegedly attempting to sell son to fund relocation, as Bandits kidnap ex-Ekiti Varsity DVC
By Emma Ogbuehi
The Police Command in Lagos State says it has arrested a couple over an alleged attempt to sell their two-year-old son to travel to Canada.
The father of one, a labourer, identified as Uchenna Eziekwe and his wife, Chineye (22), were arrested while enquiring how to sell their baby boy at the Isolo General Hospital, Lagos.
The command’s spokesperson, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, confirmed this to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Lagos.
Explaining how they were arrested, Hundeyin revealed that the arrest was effected on July 9, 2024.
He said: “About 2:45 p.m., on Tuesday, the Divisional Police Officer, DPO, in charge of Isolo Police Station received information that a couple went to the Isolo General Hospital, declaring their intention to sell their baby boy.
“Upon receipt of the information, operatives from the division moved swiftly to the hospital, where Uchenna Eziekwe and Chineye Eziekwe were about to sell their child. The baby was rescued. Upon interrogation, the couple said they decided to sell the baby to enable the man to travel to Canada for greener pastures. However, the investigation is ongoing.”
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The 28-year-old man later narrated how he convinced his wife to sell their two-year-old baby to raise money for him to travel out of the country.
Speaking with journalists, Eziekwe said the decision to sell the child was his, attributing his action to the harsh economy.
He said: “It was a difficult decision, but we had no choice but to sell our baby. We felt it would be better to sell him to someone who can take care of him than to allow him to die of hunger.
“I muted the idea and convinced my wife. We had to do it because of hardship. I am a labourer, I go to construction sites to look for work while my wife does nothing. Like I said, it was a hard decision.”
Meanwhile, some unknown gunmen have reportedly abducted a former deputy Vice Chancellor of Ekiti State University, Ado Ekiti (EKSU), Professor Femi Olaofe, at his residence at Housing Estate, Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State Capital.
The incident was said to have occurred on Tuesday.
Olaofe, a native of Are-Ekiti, Irepodun/Ifelodun local government, was a professor of industrial chemistry before his recent retirement from the university.
An eyewitness who pleaded anonymity revealed that Professor Olaofe returned to Ado Ekiti on Monday after a short visit to Lagos, where he had gone to see his children.
The source said, “We saw him on Monday when he returned from his trip to Lagos. We greeted and exchanged pleasantries. We also saw his gateman, who lives with him. As a retired professor, his house is very calm and always quiet. We have been neighbours for a long time. Anytime he drives out he will always wait to say hello.
”On Tuesday, we noticed that the gate of his house was left open. This was strange because the gate is always closed. We approached the gate with the intention to call the security man to shut the gate. We called the security man, there was no answer.
”We made our way into the living room, as we got closer, we noticed the door to the living room was widely opened. We shouted Professor, thrice! There was no response. We decided to go around the compound, and yet we couldn’t find anyone. At this point, we became suspicious that something had happened. We thereafter, decided to approach the Divisional Police Station, Housing Estate, where we made a report.
”The police quickly swung into action.
”It was yesterday that we had a report of how some kidnappers came into his house and demanded the key to his car. We learnt that he was taken away in the car along with his security man.”
Meanwhile, the Are-Ekiti Development Association (ÀŔEDAA) has charged the Ekiti State Police Command to do everything humanly possible to secure the release of the Ekiti University Don, as the kidnappers are demanding N50m ransom.
- NAN