The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) has shut down a residential apartment in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, allegedly being used as an illegal maternity facility by a suspected child-trafficking syndicate.
The operation, carried out jointly by NAPTIP operatives and officials of the Rivers State Ministry of Health, also resulted in the arrest of three people, including the alleged owner of the facility, a suspected facilitator of the baby-sale operation and a staff member.
The agency said the arrests followed intelligence linking the facility to the alleged procurement, sale and unlawful transfer of children. The facility is located in the Elelenwo area of Port Harcourt.
According to NAPTIP, preliminary investigations revealed that a Liberian national residing in Belgium arrived in Nigeria without evidence of pregnancy but allegedly took custody of three children within about a month.
The agency said intelligence gathered during the investigation indicated that about ₦13.5 million was allegedly paid in connection with the transfer of the three children.
NAPTIP said the facility was sealed to preserve potential evidence and protect the integrity of the ongoing investigation.
The agency disclosed that investigators are working to establish the identities and whereabouts of the children, determine their biological and legal parentage and identify all individuals involved in their alleged procurement and transfer.
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Investigators are also tracing the financial transactions linked to the case and examining the possible involvement of medical personnel and other individuals who may have facilitated the alleged operation.
NAPTIP Director-General, Binta Bello, expressed concern over the alleged involvement of foreign nationals in child-trafficking activities in Nigeria.
Bello vowed that anyone found culpable would face the full weight of the law, stressing that the welfare and safety of the affected children remain the agency’s priority.
The agency also 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 its offices across the country.
The latest operation forms part of NAPTIP’s wider crackdown on suspected illegal maternity facilities and so-called baby factories, following intelligence suggesting that some facilities are being used for child trafficking and related criminal activities.