The police in Ogun State have rescued a seven-day-old baby stolen in Lagos and sold to a 53-year-old woman for N500,000.

The police also arrested the buyer, a woman identified as Chinyere Nwozu, for stealing a baby.

Also arrested was one Ngozi Akaeme who allegedly sold the baby boy to Nwozu.

Ms Nwosu was arrested in the morning of July 25 after she was seen carrying a baby that was crying but she could not breastfeed him as a mother.

Observers who were surprised at the situation alerted the police at the Sango Ota Divisional Headquarters to the suspicious incident.

The police spokesperson in Ogun State, Abimbola Oyeyemi, who disclosed this to newsmen yesterday, said the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) for Sango Ota acted on the tip-off by deploying detectives to the scene.

Oyeyemi, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), said the detectives arrested the suspect and her accomplice.

Oyeyemi said: “The DPO Sango Ota, SP Dahiru Saleh, detailed his detectives to the scene where the woman was promptly arrested.

“On interrogation, she confessed to the police that she is not the biological mother of the baby but bought it for N500,000 somewhere in Agege area of Lagos State through one Ngozi Akaeme.

“Detectives went after the said Ngozi Akaeme and got her arrested. She confessed to being an accomplice to Chinyere Nwozu, and that she actually negotiated with the biological mother of the baby who, according to her, agreed to sell the baby.

“Efforts to make her accompany policemen to locate the real mother of the baby proved abortive.

“Meanwhile, the Commissioner of Police, CP Lanre Bankole, has directed that the suspects be transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department for further investigation and possible prosecution.”