Can Poverty Forces Mother To Sell Child? This Story'll Surprise You

20 year old Maria Ekanem, who was arrested by the police along five other accomplices, said her boyfriend who got her pregnant, asked her to abort the baby but said a doctor helped her with free antenatal care and food until she gave birth.

Paraded along with Maria were a 55-year-old medical doctor, Okokon Offiong Okoho, the proprietor of Evangel Clinic, a 70-year-old matron of Sadatoe Maternity located at Umoh Street and a nurse at the maternity who allegedly made the plans to sell the girl to an Abuja-based lady who is now on the run.

However, plans to sell the two weeks old girl was leaked to the police by a Senior Secondary Two girl of NYSC Demonstration Secondary School, Calabar , Maria Elemi, whose parents Maria was living  with after she delivered the baby.

Elemi said to hav been suspicious of the ongoing development quickly raised an alarm and the police got involved apprehending all the suspects in the case.

Cross River Police Public Relations Officer, ASP John Eluu, who paraded Maria along with the doctor and Matron, said when information got to the police at the Federal Housing Police Station, detectives swung into action and arrested the suspects.

Eluu said investigations were continuing to apprehend the buyer of the girl who is now on the run.

Ekanem, a school drop out from Odukpani Local Government Area of Cross River State, said yesterday in Calabar that poverty and lack of where to stay after she gave birth made her sell her two weeks old baby girl for N20,000.