Woman arrested for allegedly buying baby for N1.2m

A middle-aged woman believed to be from
Cameroon, Evelyn Atemkeng, was arrested
yesterday in Calabar, the Cross River State capital,
by men of the Nigeria Immigration Service for
allegedly buying a three day old baby at the cost
of N1.2 million. Mrs Atemkeng accompanied by her aged mother,
Anastasia Fambong, was said to have bought the
baby boy from a matron of a clinic in Delta State. Commander of the Cross River State Command, Mr
Samuel Ichoi, said his men accosted the lady
while she was boarding a ship to Cameroon. He said: “The lady came from Cameron to Nigeria
on Friday without any sign of pregnancy but she
was found to be carrying a baby and when my
men examined her there are no signs that she just
gave birth. So, she and the baby were
apprehended.” Mrs Atemkeng told reporters she gave birth to the
baby and that the money she paid into the
account of the matron was for delivery and herbs
she gave to her to aid delivery. “She (matron) said my breast would start
producing milk in three weeks but for now the
baby is taking baby food,” Atemkeng said. She said she came to Nigeria because she did not
have anybody in Cameroon to take care of her. She said: “I am married and my husband is in
Cameroon but there is nobody to take care of me
in Cameroon; that was why I came to Nigeria to
deliver.” The Anti-Human Trafficking officer of the NIS at
the Calabar Port, Mrs Agbor Ojong Ogar, said she
took time to examine the woman and she did not
have any sign of someone who just gave birth. She said: “The woman passed here on Friday; she
left on Saturday and returned to Calabar on
Tuesday and was heading back to Cameroon with
a baby and when we examined her, she does not
have any signs of having given birth recently.”