The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) has arrested a 60-year-old founder of a Benue-based orphanage and a prominent member of the National Council of Child’s Right Advocates of Nigeria (NACRAN) for alleged involvement in a large-scale child trafficking and illegal adoption network.
According to NAPTIP’s National Press Officer, Vincent Adekoye, the suspect was apprehended alongside a 34-year-old female accomplice and two other orphanage operators in Abuja and Nasarawa State. The arrests followed an intensive operation by the agency’s Makurdi Command.
Adekoye revealed that 26 children were rescued during the operation, while over 274 others remain unaccounted for as investigations continue. The children were reportedly trafficked and sold across Benue, Enugu, Lagos, Nasarawa, and Abuja.
The investigation began after a man reported that his four-year-old son had been handed over to an NGO by his mother-in-law without consent. When he demanded the child’s return, he was told he could only see him after three years.
This complaint prompted NAPTIP to launch a broader probe, which uncovered a complex network exploiting vulnerable families in Benue’s crisis-ridden communities. The suspects allegedly used a deceptive initiative known as the “Back to School Project” to recruit children under the guise of offering free education.
Villagers and traditional leaders were reportedly misled into signing consent forms, believing their children would return home after three years. Investigators found that the children, aged between one and 13, were later sold to wealthy couples for between ₦1 million and ₦3 million per child under the pretense of legal adoption.
Some orphanages in Abuja and Nasarawa were identified as holding centres, including facilities located in Kaigini, Kubwa Expressway; Masaka Area 1, Mararaba; and behind the International Market, Mararaba.
One complainant told NAPTIP he paid ₦2.8 million as an adoption fee and ₦100,000 as a “consultancy fee” to the syndicate. Many of the rescued children’s identities were allegedly altered to frustrate tracing efforts.
NAPTIP’s Director-General, Binta Bello, described the case as “unbelievable and deeply disturbing,” warning that child trafficking disguised as adoption has become a national crisis.
“It is painful that some unpatriotic elements, using their social status and recognized organisations, deceive vulnerable families and traffic their children for profit,” Bello said. “Our children are not commodities to be sold to the highest bidder. This wickedness must stop.”
She added that the arrests are part of NAPTIP’s renewed crackdown on illegal orphanages and adoption centres across the country.
In a related operation, the Ondo State Police Command dismantled a baby factory and human trafficking ring in Ore, Odigbo Local Government Area, rescuing five pregnant girls and a baby boy.
Police Public Relations Officer, Ayanlade Olusola, said the operation followed the escape of a 17-year-old victim, Vivian Peter, who revealed she had been trafficked from Akwa Ibom under the guise of a job offer.
Upon arrival in Ore, she was taken to what appeared to be a clinic, which later turned out to be a baby factory. Acting on her report, detectives raided the facility, rescuing victims and arresting the operator, identified as Ada Clement, along with her accomplices.
Preliminary investigations revealed that newborn girls were sold for ₦400,000 and boys for ₦600,000 or more.
State Commissioner of Police, Adebowale Lawal, has ordered a full-scale investigation into the syndicate’s operations and directed officers to track down all fleeing members.
Meanwhile, operatives also arrested a 20-year-old suspect, Abdullahi Ibrahim, believed to be part of a notorious kidnapping gang targeting travelers along the Benin–Ore Expressway.
Police said Ibrahim confessed to participating in several abductions across Ondo, Edo, and Lagos States. His confession led to further arrests in Benin City as part of an ongoing operation to dismantle the network.
Commissioner Lawal commended officers for their professionalism and assured residents that Ondo State remains unsafe for criminals.
“We will continue to sustain intelligence-led operations to protect lives and property,” the CP stated. “Criminals will find no refuge in this state.”
