By Oluwakemi Kindness
The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) has launched an investigation into an alleged ₦13.5 million baby-sale operation in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, involving three children.
The agency said it had arrested three suspects and sealed a suspected illegal maternity facility in Elelenwo, where the children were allegedly procured and transferred.
The suspects include the facility owner, an alleged facilitator and a staff member, according to a statement issued on Thursday by NAPTIP’s Head of Press and Public Relations, Vincent Adekoye.
NAPTIP said 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 one month.
The agency said intelligence gathered indicated that about ₦13.5 million may have changed hands in connection with the alleged transfer of the children.
Investigators are now tracing the money trail to determine who received the alleged payments, how the transactions were conducted and the roles played by those involved.
They are also working to establish the biological and legal parentage of the children, as well as their current whereabouts and welfare.
NAPTIP said medical personnel and other individuals suspected of facilitating the alleged transfers would also be questioned as investigations progress.
The suspected maternity facility, which allegedly operated from a residential apartment, has been sealed to preserve evidence.
The agency said the operation forms part of its broader crackdown on suspected baby factories and fraudulent maternity facilities linked to illegal adoption, child trafficking and the sale of children.
NAPTIP Director-General, Binta Bello, said the investigation would be expanded to identify all individuals connected to the alleged operation.
She warned that anyone found culpable would be prosecuted in accordance with the law.
The investigation could therefore widen beyond the three suspects already arrested if evidence points to the involvement of medical workers, intermediaries or other members of an organised network.
NAPTIP said the safety, welfare and protection of the three children remain its foremost priority as the investigation continues.
