The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) has sealed a maternity facility in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, following allegations of baby selling and trafficking involving a Liberian national resident in Belgium.
The agency said three people, including the owner of the facility and an alleged facilitator of the suspected baby sale, were arrested during a joint operation with the Rivers State Ministry of Health.
The facility, located in the Elelenwo area of Port Harcourt, was allegedly operating from a residential apartment and is being investigated over the procurement, sale and unlawful transfer of children.
According to NAPTIP, preliminary findings indicate that the foreign national arrived in Nigeria without evidence of pregnancy but allegedly took custody of three children within about one month.
The agency said intelligence available to investigators suggested that about N13.5 million was exchanged in connection with the transfer of the three children.
NAPTIP said its operatives from Abuja and Rivers State, working with officials of the state Ministry of Health, raided the facility after receiving intelligence about the alleged activities of a child-trafficking network.
The premises were subsequently sealed to preserve possible evidence while investigations continue.
The agency said investigators were examining the identities, whereabouts and welfare of the three children, as well as establishing their biological and legal parentage.
Investigators are also tracing the financial transactions allegedly linked to the children and examining the roles of medical personnel and other individuals suspected of facilitating the alleged transfers.
The development is part of a wider clampdown by NAPTIP on suspected illegal maternity and healthcare facilities allegedly operating as “baby factories” across the country.
The agency said its Director-General, Binta Adamu Bello, had previously directed increased surveillance of suspicious maternity facilities following intelligence suggesting that some were being used to facilitate illegal adoption, baby selling and trafficking.
Reacting to the latest development, Bello expressed concern over the alleged involvement of foreign nationals in the procurement of children through suspected criminal networks in Nigeria.
“I am particularly disturbed that foreign nationals now come to Nigeria to patronize these suspected criminal elements and procure children like a common object of trade across the border,” she said.
Bello said the agency had expanded its investigation to identify everyone connected to the alleged scheme.
“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,” she said.
She, however, stressed that the investigation was still ongoing and that suspects would be subjected to due process.
Bello added that the safety and welfare of the children remained the agency’s priority.
NAPTIP urged members of the public to report suspected cases of child trafficking, illegal adoption, baby selling and other forms of child exploitation to its state and zonal commands.
