PERMANENT SECRETARY AND A NURSE ARRESTED FOR CHILD TRAFICKING

About 2 weeks after police detec­tives from Akenfa police station arrested 2 women involved in selling a newborn baby for #300, 000, a  Permanent Secre­tary  currently serving in the Bayelsa State Civil Service  and a private hospital  nurse in Igbogene, Yenagoa have also been arrested  by a special team of anti-Vice Squad of the State Police Command over an alleged attempt to buy a new born baby for the sum of  #200, 000.

Investigation revealed that the hospital  where the new  baby was born belonged to the Permanent Secretary who happens to also be a practicing Medical Doctor.

According to The Sun report, the24 year-old Nnena Lawrence  mother of the baby, lodged the complaint at the police station leading to the arrest of the suspects.

Miss Lawrence was said to have gone to the hospital in the third trimester of her pregnancy and attempted to se­cure the service of the Doctor to carry out an abortion but the doctor refused because of the risk and in­stead allegedly offered to buy the baby if delivered with an offer of #200,000 for a female baby and the sum of #250,000 if it is boy.

The suspects allegedly gave Miss Lawrence  #27, 000 as deposit payment for feeding. However the agree­ment got twisted when after be­ing delivered of a baby boy, Miss Lawrence had a change of mind on the deal and when the hospi­tal refused to discharge her with the baby, she reportedly filed a complaint at the Igbogene Divi­sion of the Police.

A source who is a worker in the hospital said the senior civil servant was only trying to help the mother of the baby by taking the baby to the Welfare Department of the State.

A source close to the Doc­tor  said the doctor has nothing to hide as he has written his statement to the Police and even went to show the Police detectives where the baby was kept at the State Wel­fare Department.

"The story is not true. The Doctor saw there would not be care for the baby after delivery and instructed that after delivery the child should be taken to the state Welfare department. In fact as of the time the mother delivered, the Doctor was in the House of Assembly defend­ing the 2016 budget. He is not involved in any baby sale saga. The management of the hospital took the child to the state wel­fare department and when the mother got there she was told to go and bring two relatives. She now went to the Police to con­coct stories and the Police are also saying the hospital should have brought the baby to them. He has written his statement and everything is there."

The Spokesman of the State Police Command, Asinim Butswat who confirmed the development said investigation was ongoing to verify the claims of the mother of the newly born baby.

 Butswat said: "On the 4/2/2016,at about 1000hrs, one Nnena Florence of Igbo­gene Community, reported to the Police, that she delivered a baby on the 3/2/2016, at Surviv­al Hospital, Igbogene, Yenagoa.

"She stated that prior to the delivery, she had arranged with the Doctor and the Nurse of the hospital to sell the baby to one woman now at large, at the sum N200,000 only but upon deliv­ery of the baby, she changed her mind and refused to sell the baby as agreed. The Doctor and the Nurse are undergoing in­terrogation at Igbogene Police station while investigation is on-going."