The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) announced it had sealed a residential apartment suspected of being converted into an illegal maternity facility by a child-trafficking syndicate in Elelenwo, Port Harcourt.
According to a statement released Thursday by the agency’s Head of Press and Public Relations Unit, Vincent Adekoye, NAPTIP detained the facility’s owner, who was identified as a facilitator in the alleged baby sale, as well as one other staff member.
The announcement is headlined ‘NAPTIP Seals High-Profile Maternity in Port Harcourt for Alleged Baby Sale and Trafficking Involving a Foreign National.’
Adekoye stated that the combined operation, which was conducted by NAPTIP in partnership with the Rivers State Ministry of Health, was prompted by actionable intelligence on a criminal network reportedly involved in the procurement, sale, and unlawful transfer of minors.
The facility is located in Elelenwo, a district NAPTIP stated is widely regarded as home to some high-profile health centers in Rivers State.
“Preliminary investigation indicates that a Liberian national who resides in Belgium arrived in Nigeria with no evidence of pregnancy, yet within roughly one month allegedly took custody of three children under circumstances that have raised serious concern. Intelligence available to the agency indicates that approximately N13.5m changed hands in connection with the transfer of the three children and other members of staff of the maternity ward.
“Acting on this intelligence, NAPTIP operatives (Abuja and Rivers State) and officials of the Rivers State Ministry of Health carried out a coordinated operation at the suspected facility, sealing the premises to preserve the scene and safeguard potential evidence pending the outcome of investigations.
“Investigators are now conducting forensic and documentary inquiries to establish the identities, whereabouts, and welfare status of the children, determine their biological and legal parentage, identify all persons involved in their procurement and transfer, and trace the financial transactions and other circumstances surrounding their alleged procurement,” the statement read.
NAPTIP mentioned it was also examining the possible role of medical personnel and other individuals who may have facilitated the suspected criminal enterprise.
The development comes months after NAPTIP’s Director-General, Binta Bello, ordered increased surveillance of self-proclaimed maternities across the country, citing credible intelligence indicating that many of these facilities have become fertility scam centers, generating unimaginable fraud through child sale and trafficking.
Speaking on the recent raid, Bello expressed alarm about the increasing involvement of foreign nationals in criminal networks.
“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. This is sad and totally unacceptable,” she said.
Bello added, “We have spread our dragnet to fish out all those involved in this case, and they shall be made to face the full wrath of the law. I wish to reaffirm that the matter remains under active investigation and that all persons found connected to it will be subjected to due process under the law.
“The agency will ensure that anyone found culpable is brought to justice, while the safety and welfare of the affected children remain its foremost priority.”
She called on Nigerians to remain vigilant, saying, “Members of the public are urged to remain vigilant and to report suspected cases of child trafficking, illegal adoption, baby-selling or other forms of exploitation to NAPTIP through its nearest zonal or state command.”
Bello stated that the agency will continue to capture unlawful maternity and healthcare establishments that operate as “baby factories” around the country.
Baby factories are a well-documented practice in which vulnerable pregnant women are held in informal facilities and their infants sold to buyers, including couples desiring children through illegal means and, increasingly, according to the agency’s findings, foreign people.
