Miss Mercy Okon, a 23-year-old woman who was detained for selling her 3-month-old baby for N150,000, has disclosed her motivation.
The mother of three explained that she had to sell her child because she wanted the money to pay her rent and other bills.
Mercy told Vanguard that she did what she did in an attempt to lift herself out of poverty and desperation.
Mercy claims that the child's father abandoned her while she was six months pregnant, and that she has two other children whom she has left with her mother since she has recently given birth and is unable to continue her food business.
She stated, "
"I've never done anything like this before; my baby, which I sold for 150,000 naira, was sold to raise money for home rents and other expenditures.
"The kid's father abandoned us when I was six months pregnant; I had no option because circumstances were difficult for me, so I had to give the baby away; nevertheless, the person who linked me up initially told me that his brother wanted to marry me.
"I was given 150,000 from them, which I accepted before turning over my three-month-old kid to them, and in the process, police got involved and I was arrested," she explained.
It was learned that more members of the organization were being apprehended.