NAPTIP
The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) has sealed a prominent maternity home in Elelenwo, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, for allegedly operating an illegal baby factory and child trafficking ring.
The joint operation executed by NAPTIP operatives from Abuja and Rivers alongside officials from the Rivers State Ministry of Health, led to the arrest of the facility owner, a staff member, and an alleged facilitator within the baby-selling network.
According to a statement released on Thursday by NAPTIP’s Head of Media and Public Relations, Mr. Vincent Adekoye, the raid followed actionable intelligence regarding a criminal enterprise involved in the procurement, sale, and unlawful transfer of children within and outside Nigeria.
Preliminary investigations revealed that a Liberian national living in Belgium entered Nigeria without proof of pregnancy but suspiciously obtained custody of three children. Intelligence indicates that approximately N13.5 million exchanged hands during the transaction.
The facility was shut down to preserve the crime scene following a nationwide surveillance directive issued months earlier by NAPTIP Director-General, Hajiya Binta Adamu-Bello, targeting suspected maternity homes functioning as fertility scam centers.
Investigators are currently conducting forensic and financial inquiries to trace the welfare and parentage of the children, as well as the involvement of any medical personnel or external accomplices.
Reacting to the development, Hajiya Binta Adamu-Bello condemned the involvement of health facilities in illegal adoptions and baby sales, expressing particular concern over foreign nationals using Nigeria as a hub to procure children.
“I am particularly disturbed that foreign nationals now come to Nigeria to patronise these suspected criminal elements and procure children like a common object of trade across the border,” Adamu-Bello stated.
She reassured the public that all culpable individuals would face the full wrath of the law, urging citizens to report suspected child exploitation and illegal adoption activities to the nearest NAPTIP command.
