The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons, NAPTIP, has sealed a high-profile maternity facility in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, over allegations of baby sale and child trafficking involving a foreign national.
The operation was carried out jointly by NAPTIP operatives and officials of the Rivers State Ministry of Health following intelligence linking the facility to a suspected child-trafficking syndicate involved in the procurement, sale and unlawful transfer of children.
The facility, located in the Elelenwo area of Port Harcourt, was allegedly operating from a residential apartment and has now been sealed to preserve evidence and protect the children potentially affected by the suspected criminal activity.
Three people, including the owner of the facility, an alleged facilitator of the baby sale and another staff member, were arrested during the operation.
Preliminary investigations indicate that a Liberian national residing in Belgium arrived in Nigeria without evidence of pregnancy but allegedly took custody of three children within about one month.
NAPTIP says intelligence available to investigators suggests that about 13.5 million naira may have changed hands in connection with the transfer of the three children and other individuals linked to the maternity.
Investigators are now conducting forensic and documentary checks to establish the identities, whereabouts and welfare of the children, as well as determine their biological and legal parentage.
The investigation will also trace the alleged financial transactions and establish the roles of medical personnel and other individuals who may have facilitated the suspected child-trafficking operation.
The NAPTIP Director-General, Binta Adamu Bello, expressed concern over the growing allegations of illegal adoption, baby sales and trafficking involving some maternity and healthcare facilities.
Bello described the alleged involvement of a foreign national as particularly disturbing, saying it was unacceptable for children to be treated as commodities and moved across international borders.
She assured that the agency would widen its investigation to identify everyone connected to the case and ensure that anyone found culpable faces the full weight of the law.
The NAPTIP boss also stressed that the case remains under active investigation and that due process would be followed, with the safety and welfare of the affected children given priority.
The agency urged members of the public to remain vigilant and report suspected cases of child trafficking, illegal adoption, baby selling and other forms of exploitation to the nearest NAPTIP zonal or state command.
The latest operation is part of NAPTIP’s intensified surveillance of suspected illegal maternity and healthcare facilities following intelligence that some have allegedly transformed into so-called baby factories and centres for fertility-related scams and child trafficking.