A 26-YEAR-OLD woman in Lagos has sold her twin children for N120,000, citing her inability to take care of them.
Nwagego Thomas says she took the action on account of neglect, ill-treatment and denial of paternity of the twins by her 42-year-old man friend.
She was paraded by the Police in Ikeja yesterday along with the buyer, Helen Uloma, who claimed she bought the twins for her US-based barren sister. Paraded with them were three other alleged accomplices.
Nwagego who hails from Imo State told journalists she met John Ezeugwu in a restaurant where she worked as a sales girl and thereafter started living with him.
But the relationship, according to her, turned sour when she became pregnant last year, following Ezeugwu�s outright denial of paternity. Several attempts made to terminate the pregnancy failed and when the twins, both boys, were born in February, she said she was introduced to one Helen who promised to pay her N120,000 for the babies, an offer she accepted. But the bubble burst when the supposed father of the babies got wind of the deal and alerted the Police.
Her words: �I started living with Mr John Ezeugwu over a year ago after I was chased out from the white garment church where I was living, following my refusal to indulge in a fetish bath.
I met him in the restaurant where I worked as a sales girl at the Trade Fair Complex. I became pregnant for him last year and that was when trouble started.
First, he said he was not responsible for the pregnancy and accused me of sleeping around. That was when I made up my mind to terminate the pregnancy.
I took several pills and was even given something to insert into my private part but none worked. When I went for scan and was told they were twins, I decided to leave the pregnancy.
�I eventually put to birth on February 27, 2008 at the Island Maternity. But with the delivery of the children came a total change of attitude from John. He started beating me and asked me out of his house.
I could not travel back to the village because I knew my mother would kill me. So, I began to contemplate on how to do away with the babies because I have no means of taking care of them.
An opportunity came when my friend Chinyere introduced me to Uloma who said she would pay me N120,000 for the babies. She told me she wanted to take the babies to her sister in the US and instructed me to keep sealed lips by pretending that nothing happened. She also suggested that I return to the village and stay there permanently.
�Of the N120,000, I gave Obinna, the chemist from whom I bought some drugs on credit during pregnancy, the sum of N15,000 and I gave Chinyere, the lady that introduced me to the buyer, N10,000.
When I travelled to the village, I gave my brother N25,000 to start a trade. But while in the village, my conscience started pricking me as I started thinking about the children. I could no longer stand the pressure and, therefore, had to come back to Lagos two weeks ago to inform the father of the children what I had done. It was him who contacted the Police,� she narrated..
On her part, the buyer who simply gave her name as Helen Uloma denied buying the babies. Rather, she said she only saved the babies from the claws of their mother who intended throwing them away.
Said she: �One of my stylists informed me of Nwakego�s intention to throw the babies away following her inability to take care of them.
That was when I decided to give her some money, requesting that she kept the babies with me instead of throwing them away and allowing them to die. I actually intended giving them to my sister in the USA who has been looking for a child for years,� she said.
The babies who are in good condition, are presently in the custody of the Nigerian Red Cross while the suspects, according to the Deputy Commissioner of Police in-charge of SCID, Oyeleye Oyebade, would be charged to court.