BY RITA OYIBOKA
A 28-year-old woman, only identified as Rita, has revealed why she sold her two-month-old baby for ₦1.5 million after falsely reporting to the police that the child was kidnapped at gunpoint.
The confession was captured yesterday in a video interview posted on the official X (formerly Twitter) page of the Delta State Police Command’s spokesperson, SP Edafe Bright.
While the alleged kidnappings of children in the Agbarho had earlier made the news following rumours and protests, police say it is the suspect’s confession that has now exposed the true circumstances surrounding such cases.
Speaking in the video, SP Bright explained that the Command had, some time ago, dismissed claims that 25 children had gone missing in Agbarho, insisting that no formal reports of missing children were made at any police station.
“People were staging protests and claiming that 25 children were missing. We kept saying there were no statistics to support that. If your child is missing, you must come to the police station to make a report. Something was clearly not right,” he said.
According to the police spokesperson, on December 15, 2025, the suspect walked into the Ekpan Police Station and reported that her baby had been kidnapped at gunpoint. The Divisional Police Officer (DPO) immediately mobilised about six patrol teams to search the area and track the alleged kidnappers.
However, during the investigation, the DPO asked to see the father of the baby. Both parents were invited to the station for questioning, and during interrogation, the mother eventually admitted that the child was neither stolen nor kidnapped. “She sold the baby for ₦1.5 million,” SP Bright noted.
During the interview, the woman, identified as Rita, said she was 28 years old and unmarried. She disclosed that she has two children for the man she identified as the father of the baby in question and another child for a different man.
Explaining why she sold the baby, Rita said she handed the child to the wife of a pastor in Agbarho, whom she referred to as “mother,” after the woman told her she had lost her twins and had been childless for years.
“She said she had been praying every day and night for God to bless her with a child,” the suspect said. “When I told her I had a two-month-old baby, she said she would talk to her husband.”
She admitted that she received ₦1.5 million from the couple as payment for the child, a sum she said remains in her bank account. She further claimed that after handing over the baby, she broke down in tears and was advised by the pastor and his wife not to return home but to go elsewhere to “cool off,” which led her to stay with a relative.
According to the suspect, when the relative noticed the absence of the child and insisted that the matter be reported to the police, she fabricated a kidnapping story out of fear that people would discover she had willingly given the baby away.
“I cried and told people my child was missing because I didn’t want anyone to know I gave the baby out myself,” she said.
The suspect confessed that it was after she was taken to a shrine and the fear of curses being placed on those with the child that prompted her to confess.
Asked if she regretted her actions and whether she would take the baby back if returned, the woman said she was remorseful and pleaded for forgiveness.
“I regret my actions. Please forgive me,” she said, insisting she would not sell any of her other children.
SP Bright emphasised that the key issue was the false report made to the police. “The takeaway here is that she went to the police station and reported that her child was kidnapped, which turned out to be false,” he said.
The Delta State Police Command said investigations are ongoing and assured the public that appropriate legal steps would be taken in line with the law.
