Ayomide Awe
The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons has sealed a suspected illegal maternity facility in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, and arrested three persons over an alleged ₦13.5m transaction involving the sale and unlawful transfer of three children.
The suspects, according to NAPTIP, include the owner of the facility, an alleged facilitator of the transaction and a staff member.
The agency said the facility, located in the Elelenwo area of Port Harcourt, was allegedly being operated from a residential apartment.
The operation was conducted by NAPTIP operatives from Abuja and Rivers State in collaboration with officials of the Rivers State Ministry of Health following intelligence on a suspected child-trafficking syndicate allegedly involved in the procurement, sale and unlawful transfer of children.
According to a statement issued on Thursday by NAPTIP’s Head of Press and Public Relations, Vincent Adekoye, preliminary investigations revealed that a Liberian national resident in Belgium allegedly arrived in Nigeria without evidence of pregnancy but took custody of three children within about one month.
The agency said intelligence gathered by investigators indicated that approximately ₦13.5m changed hands in connection with the transfer of the three children.
NAPTIP said investigators were working to establish the identities, whereabouts and welfare of the children, as well as determine their biological and legal parentage.
The agency also said the investigation would trace financial transactions linked to the alleged transfers and determine the roles played by medical personnel and other individuals who may have facilitated the suspected offences.
The maternity facility has been sealed, NAPTIP said, to preserve potential evidence as investigations continue.
The NAPTIP Director-General, Binta Bello, expressed concern over the alleged involvement of maternity and healthcare facilities in illegal adoption, child sales and trafficking.
Bello said the alleged involvement of a foreign national in the case was particularly disturbing, stressing that Nigeria could not become a destination for the illegal procurement and cross-border movement of children.
She said the agency had widened its investigation to identify all persons connected to the alleged operation.
“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,” Bello said.
She added that the matter remained under active investigation and warned that anyone found culpable would be prosecuted in accordance with the law.
Bello said the agency’s priority remained the safety and welfare of the affected children.
She urged members of the public to report suspected cases of child trafficking, illegal adoption, baby-selling and other forms of child exploitation to NAPTIP or its nearest state or zonal command.
The latest operation followed a directive by the NAPTIP boss for intensified surveillance of suspected maternity facilities across the country.
The agency said intelligence had indicated that some facilities were allegedly being used as fronts for fertility scams, illegal adoption, child sales and trafficking.
NAPTIP said investigations into the Port Harcourt case were ongoing.
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