Economic hardship made me plot to sell two of my boys at N2m – Anambra Woman

Thirty-eight-year-old Chinyere Chukwu has been arrested for attempting to sell two of her sons. The mother, who had decided to sell the boy off at N1.8m, attributed it to the country’s economic hardship. 

The mother of 11 was apprehended alongside her 17-year-old daughter, Joy Chukwu; they both plotted to sell the boys and train the remaining with the proceeds, according to the Anambra State Ministry of Women and Social Welfare, before their apprehension. 

Their plans failed after the Commissioner of Women Affairs and Social Welfare, Ify Obinabo, posed as a client interested in buying the boys after she got wind of Chukwu’s interest in selling them. She later led security operatives to make arrests after negotiations. 

Chukwu, who resides in Okija in the Ihiala Local Government Area of the state, explained that she had 11 children and decided to sell two boys because she could not afford to care for them anymore, costing one million each.

She said, “I have 11 children, and when I could not cater to them, I decided to sell two because of the country’s economic hardship. Since they are boys, the prices were kept at N1m each, but after serious bargaining by the Commissioner, who posed as the buyer, we decided to sell them at N1.8m instead of the initial N2m. 

“I developed an interest in the business and decided to embark on such adventure after my neighbour successfully sold one of her kids. This was my first attempt at the business,” she said. Joy, the eldest of the children, admitted that her tertiary education was part of the reason they plotted to sell the boys. 

The Commissioner has ordered that the remaining children be moved into government custody for proper care while the suspect’s neighbour, who had sold her child, would be apprehended. She also said contract tracing would begin as soon as she is arrested to retrieve the child. 

Ibinabo assured citizens of the state government’s determination to eradicate all kinds of crimes and warned anyone guilty would be prosecuted by the law.  

Read more: Man jailed 30 months for raping three-year-old

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