Baby traffickers thriving in Nigeria as recession bites

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As 16-year-old Maria strained under the anguish of labour in South-eastern Nigeria, a midwife repeatedly slapped her across the face - but the real ordeal began minutes after birth.

"The nurse took my child away to be washed. She never brought her back," the teenager said, gazing down at her feet. Maria said she learned her newborn daughter had been given up for adoption for which she received 20,000 naira ($65.79) - the same price as a 50 kilogram bag of rice.