The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons has shut down a suspected illegal maternity facility in the Elelenwo area of Port Harcourt, Rivers State, over alleged links to child trafficking.
The operation was conducted by NAPTIP officials in partnership with the Rivers State Ministry of Health and led to the arrest of the facility’s owner, an alleged middleman in the suspected baby sale and another staff member.
The agency said the operation followed intelligence concerning a suspected network involved in the procurement, sale and illegal movement of children.
NAPTIP’s Head of Press and Public Relations, Vincent Adekoye, disclosed this in a statement issued on Thursday.
The agency said the facility was allegedly operating from a residential apartment that had been converted into an unapproved maternity centre.
According to NAPTIP, preliminary findings showed that a Liberian woman living in Belgium entered Nigeria without any indication that she was pregnant but allegedly took custody of three children within about a month.
Investigators also found that about ₦13.5m was allegedly exchanged in connection with the transfer of the children.
NAPTIP said, “In continuation of its nationwide clampdown on the activities of some suspected fraudulent illegal Maternity and Health Care facilities that have metamorphosed to “baby factories” across the country, operatives of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons, in collaboration with the Rivers State Ministry of Health, have sealed up a residential apartment suspected of being converted into an illegal maternity facility by a child-trafficking syndicate.”
The agency said the premises had been sealed to protect possible evidence while investigations continue.
It added that investigators are trying to establish the identities and locations of the children, determine their welfare and parentage, and identify everyone who may have participated in the alleged transactions.
NAPTIP also said it was tracing financial transactions linked to the case and examining whether medical workers or other individuals assisted the suspected operation.
Bello said, “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.
“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”
The NAPTIP boss assured that anyone found culpable would face the law, while the agency would prioritise the safety and welfare of the affected children.
She urged members of the public to remain alert and report suspected cases of child trafficking, illegal adoption, baby selling and related exploitation to NAPTIP.
