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Ebonyi State Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development, Mrs. Felicia Nwamkpuma, says it is not true that she has been in police detention since Monday this week over the alleged sale of a baby for N25 million.
Speaking to newsmen on Thursday, the Commissioner described reports circulating in the media space as false.
A 29 year old woman in the state, Susan Nweze and her family had alleged that her new born baby was sold for N25m by the state police command in collaboration with some other security agencies and the state Ministry of Women Affairs after the baby was born.
Also, the family petitioned the force zonal headquarters of the police in Enugu and the Assistant Inspector General of Police in the zone later invited the parties mentioned in the petition, including Nwamkpuma who was mandated to come with the baby.
Narrating what transpired after visiting the Assistant Inspector General of Police in the zone, the Commissioner said she was immediately asked to go back with the baby by the AIG after the presentation on Tuesday.
She revealed that the ministry was keeping custody of the said baby boy in line with the child rights act that empowers it to do so for vulnerable children and urged the public to disregard media reports alleging that she has been in detention since Monday this week.
Nwamkpuma said, “The baby is with the Ministry of Women Affairs and that the Ministry of Women Affairs has the statutory rights to ensure that children who are vulnerable, like this case, are protected and kept safe.
“Someone petitioned AIG Enugu and an investigation into the matter is still ongoing. We have been invited to show that the baby is with us.
“So, we have taken the baby to Enugu and AIG has seen the baby. We came back with the baby. We were invited to come to Enugu on that Tuesday with the baby and returned back with the baby that same Tuesday, being 19th August.
“We took the baby from the police to Enugu because they had already given us a handover note.
Nwamkpuma, reiterated that the baby was never adopted, saying, “Adoption is a legal term that can be done by the court but when a child is brought to the Ministry depending on the vulnerability of the child, the first thing we do is to take custody of the child.
“We take some of them to the hospital first so that the child will receive medical care, and for some, we take them straight to motherless babies homes,”she concluded.
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