The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) has sealed a suspected illegal maternity facility in the Elelenwo area of Port Harcourt, Rivers State, over alleged baby selling and trafficking.
The operation was carried out jointly by NAPTIP and the Rivers State Ministry of Health following intelligence about a suspected child-trafficking network operating from the facility.
The owner of the maternity, an alleged facilitator and another staff member were arrested during the operation.
According to NAPTIP, preliminary investigations showed that a Liberian national living in Belgium arrived in Nigeria without evidence of pregnancy but allegedly took custody of three children within about a month.
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The agency is also investigating an alleged ₦13.5 million transaction linked to the transfer of the children.
NAPTIP said investigators are working to establish the identities and whereabouts of the children, confirm their biological and legal parentage, and determine how they were obtained and transferred.
The agency is also looking into the possible involvement of medical personnel and other individuals who may have facilitated the alleged transactions.
The Director-General of NAPTIP, Binta Adamu Bello, expressed concern over the activities of suspected illegal maternity and health facilities, particularly their alleged involvement in child trafficking and illegal adoption.
She said, “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.”
Bello added that the agency would continue its investigation and ensure that anyone found culpable faces the law.
She also urged members of the public to report suspected cases of baby selling, illegal adoption, child trafficking and other forms of exploitation to NAPTIP.
