Ebonyi Woman Denies Selling Baby for N25m, Says Adoption Followed Due Process

A 37-year-old single mother from Ebonyi State, Susan Nweze, has denied claims that she sold her newborn baby for N25 million. Speaking to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) at her residence in Abakaliki on Tuesday, Nweze stated that she only received N700,000 as part of an adoption arrangement and not for the alleged sale of the child.

Nweze emphasized that the adoption was legally processed and properly documented. She expressed dismay over online media reports suggesting that her baby had been sold. According to her, the financial assistance she received was to help with postnatal recovery and not a price for selling her baby.

However, her family members have accused her of conspiring with certain police officers to sell the baby. Through a petition filed by their lawyer, Nzogbu Kingsley, to the Assistant Inspector General of Police at the Force Criminal Investigation Department in Enugu, they alleged that the child was sold for N25 million while Susan received only N700,000. The petition also implicated the police, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), and the Ebonyi State Ministry of Women Affairs.

Despite these accusations, Nweze insisted that she opted for adoption due to financial hardship and her inability to care for another child. She explained that she already has two children, aged 19 and 12, and lacked the means and support to raise a third. “I did not give my baby away for money. I was overwhelmed and knew I couldn’t manage another child,” she said.

Reacting to the controversy, Ebonyi State Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Mr. Ikeuwa Omebeh, described the allegations as baseless. He confirmed that the mother voluntarily gave up the baby for custody and possible adoption due to her circumstances. Meanwhile, the Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development, Mrs. Felicia Nwankpuma, clarified that the child is currently in the ministry’s custody and no sale took place. She dismissed the N25 million claim as false and misleading.