Authorities in Nigeria have arrested a Nigerian woman for allegedly trying to sell her one-month-old twin girls.
Police received a tip off from a “buyer”, who said that they were in a negotiation with the woman for 350,000 naira ($980) for the twins.
The woman has been charged with child trafficking, although further charges may be added.
According to UNICEF,the trafficking of children for the purpose of domestic service, prostitution and other forms of exploitative labour is a widespread phenomenon in Nigeria.
To fight human trafficking, the Nigerian government passed the Trafficking in Persons Prohibition and Administration Act and established the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons and Other Related matters (NAPTIP) in 2003.
The woman, aged 30, did not make any official plea at her court appearance in the northern city of Katsina but during interrogation said “economic challenges” made her do it, the local Guardian newspaper reports.
The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (Naptip) say that their 2011 investigations suggests that babies are sold for as much as $6,400 each.
Despite the government’s promise of a crackdown on this illicit practice, cases of Nigerian mothers selling their babies or caught in the process continue to occur.
