The Rapid Response Squad, an arm of the Lagos Police Command, announced on Saturday that two women have been arrested for attempting to sell a two-month-old baby. The police arrested the women, Oge Okolie and Maria Ahmadu, after a female passenger on a public bus raised an alarm about incessant crying coming from the baby being carried by Okolie. Suspicion grew when passengers aboard the bus wondered aloud why the alleged mother of the baby could not breastfeed the child if it was indeed hers.
The RRS immediately came to the scene and rescued both Okolie and the baby from potential lynching by a vigilante mob. First reports suggest that Okolie was the intermediary between the baby’s mother and the prospective buyer, however, she is also suspected of stealing the baby. The police quickly apprehended the alleged mother, Maria Ahmadu, and moved both suspects and the baby to the Gender Unit of the command for further investigation and prosecution.
The RRS has urged the public to remain vigilant and to promptly report any suspicious activity around them. It has also warned child traffickers that it is determined to track down and prosecute anyone involved in child trafficking and related forms of criminality.
It is important to note that Nigeria has long been battling the scourge of child trafficking, which is estimated to be a multi-billion-dollar industry. Children are sold for various reasons, ranging from forced labour to organ harvesting and sex slavery. As such, the government has prioritised various programmes aimed at rescuing trafficked children and bringing traffickers to book.
In conclusion, it is encouraging to see the Rapid Response Squad take swift action to foil this particular attempted sale of a two-month-old baby. It is hoped that the perpetrators face the full weight of the law, and that children in Nigeria are protected from the predations of those who would exploit them for their own nefarious purposes.
