A Nigerian man, Kingsley Oriaku, is in hot water with the law after he sold his one-year-old daughter, Nkechi, for N190, 000 to raise money to bury his mother-in-law.
The suspect also kidnapped his neighbour’s 7-year-old kid and sold him for N120,000. Both kids were sold at a pretend Orphanage Home in Abia State.
He had told the father of the 7-year-old that he was going to buy a gift for the child before absconding with him
Police records state the suspect owned up to the crime, saying that he claimed he was confused and frustrated.
In his confession, Oriaku said: “I know that what I did was not good but then I was confused and frustrated.
“My wife is the first and only daughter and when her mother died sometime in September my in-laws gave me an outrageous bill.
“Not knowing what to do, I took my daughter and handed her over to the owner of an orphanage home. I got to know her through one of my friends. She told me that she runs an orphanage and that she buys children who do not have parents.
“I remembered her when I had problems with raising money for my in-law’s burial.
“I later had problems with my wife when she found out that I left town with our child. She reported me to the police at Meiran. At the station, I admitted selling off our daughter. We later settled the matter between u
“Two days later, I tricked my neighbour’s son, Gabriel with sweet, into following me out one evening. Immediately we left our house at Meiran, I headed to the motor park where I boarded a mid-night vehicle to Abia.
“I called the owner of the orphanage before I left Lagos with my neighbour’s son. We had agreed that she would pay me N190,000 but surprisingly when I got to Umuahia, Abia State, she said she can only pay me N120,000 for the boy.”
As of 2017 Nigeria kidnapping rate was at a level of 0.4 cases per 100,000 population. Lagos State Police Commissioner, Imohimi Edgal, said it was a clear case of abduction and child theft, adding that the police followed a report of missing child filed by one Olabisi Yanga in October.