Imo: Nursing Mother, Another Woman Arrested Over Alleged ₦1.5m Baby Sale
Two women have reportedly been arrested in Owerri, Imo State, following an alleged attempt to sell a nursing mother’s baby for ₦1.5 million.
The incident reportedly occurred on Monday night after an activist and journalist, Chidiebube Okeoma, received information about the alleged plan.
According to reports, an individual contacted Okeoma after encountering the nursing mother and allegedly hearing her indicate that she was willing to sell her baby.
Okeoma reportedly instructed the informant to act as a prospective buyer and arranged a meeting at Rock View, close to the Imo State Police Headquarters.
The journalist subsequently took the woman and the informant to the police station when they arrived at the agreed meeting point.
During interrogation, the nursing mother allegedly disclosed that another woman had encouraged her to give up the baby in exchange for money.
However, the woman accused of masterminding the arrangement reportedly denied the allegation.
Explaining her predicament in a video circulated by Okeoma, the nursing mother said extreme poverty and the absence of support had pushed her into considering the alleged transaction.
She claimed that she did not know the identity of the child’s father, had no job or accommodation and had gone without food for three days while breastfeeding the baby.
“I don’t want to sell my child because I want to, but seeing the condition I am in, I don’t have the means to raise the child. I don’t have shelter, I don’t have a job, and I have not eaten for the past three days and still breastfeeding the child,” she said.
She also alleged that the child was conceived through rape, adding that she had neither a father nor a mother to support her.
Narrating how the alleged arrangement started, the woman said she encountered the other suspect while begging for food.
“She told me that she can get someone to take up the baby in exchange for money. She even suggested that I should tell the supposed buyer ₦3 million and, at worst, the buyer would pay ₦1.5 million for me to start a business and get a place to stay,” she said.
She maintained that she had no direct contact with the alleged prospective buyer, insisting that the other woman made the arrangements.
Both suspects are currently in police custody while investigations continue to establish their respective roles in the alleged attempted sale.
The incident has once again brought the issues of hunger, unemployment, homelessness and the vulnerability of women without family support into focus.
Poverty reportedly reached 63 per cent on the national poverty line, while an estimated 27 million Nigerians faced food insecurity in late 2025.
Similarly, food inflation stood at 19.57 per cent year-on-year in August 2026, with essential commodities and transportation costs continuing to place pressure on households.
In Imo State, a recent lamentation by a gubernatorial aspirant that many families could only afford rice during burial ceremonies further highlighted the difficult economic realities confronting residents.
Meanwhile, the Imo State Police Command had yet to issue an official statement on the incident as of the time of filing this report. The Command’s spokesperson, Henry Okoye, did not respond to calls seeking his reaction.
