What Could Make a Father Sell His Own Child for Money?

Poverty, desperation, wickedness, lack of care? Before you attempt to answer the question, please read this story of a man who sold his day-old baby for N350,000.

26 year-old Mr. Abraham Olaniyan, a resident of Alabgado area of Lagos State was recently arrested for selling his day-old baby to an Anambra State business woman for N350,000. His wife, Mrs Nkechi Olaniyan was pregnant for the fifth child at a time his family had been going through financial difficulty which led to his inability to care of the financial needs of  his immediate family. On the day of delivery, Mr Olaniyan reportedly took his wife to a private hospital around Alagbado where she was delivered of a baby boy.

Investigation revealed that the woman was anesthetized immediately she put to bed, apparently to prevent her from knowing when the illicit transaction would take place. When she regained consciousness an hour after the delivery, she was informed that her baby had died. She demanded severally to see the remains of her baby, only to be told that he had been buried already.

Suspecting a foul play, she  contacted the police and expressed fears that the purported story of her dead child was shrouded in unfathomable circumstance. The Police immediately arrested the husband, a development that initially sparked up reactions from different quarters. Police sources revealed that Mr. Olaniyan was arrested based on his wife’s disclosure that he had one time threatened to sell one of their children.

She said when she was pregnant, her husband asked her to terminate the pregnancy because of their financial state but she refused. So, after she regained consciousness and was told the baby had died, she insisted on seeing the corpse and when they did not allow her, she concluded that her husband might have carried out his threat.

Investigation by the Police revealed that Mr. Olaniyan had connived with some medical staff to sell the baby.

“At first , her husband denied . But he later confessed that he sold the baby for N350,000 to a woman in Anambra State who had been been looking for the fruit of the womb for fifteen years. His confessional statement led to the arrest of the doctor of the hospital and two nurses, who during interrogation, told us the man gave them his consent and that the woman was aware of the whole plan.”

Meanwhile in Onitsha, the apartment of the business woman simply identified as Rachael was agog with celebration. One of her relatives was already in her house to help her massage her body and also bath the child. The joy between her and her husband over the arrival of their baby knew no bounds , owing to the several years of waiting for a child of their own. It could however not be ascertained whether she revealed the source of the baby’s arrival to her husband.

But their joy was short lived following her arrest two weeks after the purported arrival of their long awaited baby.

I wish this story wasn’t real, but sadly it is. Now who is to blame? Mr. Olaniyan who was unable to bear the financial burden of his new son and decided to use him to make some fast money. Or Rachael who had been looking for a child for several years and had some money to exchange for the child she longed for? Should we condemn his act or can we somehow find meaning in what he did or the woman’s desperation? What would make a father sell his own child for money?

Please share your thougths.

News Source: Vanguard News
Photo Source: www.visualphotos.com