Rights group rescues girl,13, her 9 months old child from “abusive cousin” who threatened to sell her baby for N2 million 

By Patience Ogbo

A 13-year-old mother with her nine months old child has been rescued at Adeba in the Ibeju Lekki area of Lagos state. 

A source with the Advocates for Children and Vulnerable Persons Network (ACVPN) revealed how, before the teenage girl’s rescue, ” her cousin auntie said she will refund two million Naira [spent] for [the] upkeep of her and her baby, or she collects the baby in place of N2 million.” 

The ACVPN source said the teenage mother and her daughter needed help “as there were signs of physical abuse on the 13-year-old,” allegedly inflicted by her cousin, identified simply as Dora. 

According to the children’s advocate, the girl had razor cuts all over her body and had been raped in her village when she was 12 last year; before her cousin brought her to Lagos.

The advocate also reported that after arriving in Lagos, the teenage mother’s cousin treated her badly, threatening to send her to the village without her baby, or the 13-year-old pays the sum of N2 million that was spent taking care of her.

“Possibly she has negotiated with a prospective buyer of the baby, that’s why she came up with the idea of either 2 million or the baby. Criminals are everywhere. Thanks to WAPA [Ministry of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation] for the swift response.”

“Delay is dangerous; for the adolescent mother and her 9-months-old baby,” the ACVPN source said.

On January 24, the rights group rescued the girl and her baby, and a police extract was obtained from the Elemoro police station.

Information from the ACVPN source revealed that the teenage girl and her 9-month-old baby girl, along with her elder cousin ( the alleged suspect), were all transferred to the Lagos State Ministry of Youth and Social Development (MYSD), Alausa, Ikeja.

Afterwards, all parties involved moved to the Gender Unit of the Lagos State Police Command, where another extract was issued to the Child Protection unit (CPU), Lagos MYSD.

The teenage mother and her 9-month-old daughter were eventually taken to a government-approved shelter.

The ACVPN source, however, expressed displeasure with the way the teenage mother was allegedly threatened to drop allegations of assault.

“It was so unfortunate that the suspect was able to brainwash the survivor overnight to change her statement. Surprisingly the survivor said that she is fine and that her elder cousin is taking care of her.” 

“Thankfully I had her recorded audio statement with me which I played immediately [after] I noticed a foul play,” she continued. 

According to the ACVPN source, the survivor became confused and was scared to speak, and the police said they need to visit the scene of the crime. 

Thereafter, the Police Gender Unit said that there is no strong evidence against Dora (the alleged perpetrator) because the victim had said she is well taken care of. 

“We demand a thorough investigation which must be followed to the latter. Together we say no to teenage pregnancy,” the children’s advocate asserted.