Francis Ugwoke
18 June 2008
Lagos — Another dimension has been added to the trafficking of children in Enugu with the collection of pregnant young girls under the same roof. The offsprings of such pregnancies are sold as commodities to infertile couples.
Call it bizarre business, but the fact is that it is booming. It could be described as a baby factory where women who suffer disability in child bearing source babies. The proprietors are clever enough, as the homes are registered as non governmental organizations(NGOs). In the homes, the operators simply source teenage girls who are pregnant and not interested in keeping the babies. In some cases, some who are desperate to make money are lured into the business. They are taken into the homes where there are men ready to make sure that the girls become pregnant.
And to ascertain that the girls are healthy, HIV and AIDs tests are conducted on the girls before being admitted. The girls stay there until they give birth. Once they are through with this assignment, they are allowed sometime before they leave the homes. Depending on their ability to negotiate, the NGOs, according to our source, pay about N50,000 for the baby. In most cases, the girls do not see the babies they carried for nine months, as there is a ready market for them.
This is what is happening in Enugu, where the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) said there were so many of such homes. The Agency's Zonal Director, Mrs Ijeoma Okoronkwo had told THISDAY in October last year that her organization was investigating cases involving doctors in the state who lure young girls into pregnancy and on delivery, send them away with between N25,000 and N30,000. It is alleged that a baby girl sells for N25,000 and N30,000 for a baby boy.
Okoronkwo told THISDAY last week that her organization was still investigating the cases, but declined further details. Some of the cases according to her were in court.
However, residents of Enugu metropolis were last week alarmed following the discovery after a raid carried out at Uzor Oma Maternity Home located at Zik Avenue, 20 young girls who were being kept waiting for delivery. Before the raid, officials of the defense corps had arrested a woman, Mrs Bene Aguocha who was alleged to have sourced a day-old baby from the home. Mrs Aguocha, it was gathered had planned to travel to Lagos with the baby before she was arrested.
Commandant of the Civil Defense Corps, Mr Desmond Agu disclosed that the woman had confessed buying the baby at N340,000 from the home. According to Agu, the woman also confessed that she was directed to the home by another woman.
The Commandant said that it was after the confessional statement that his men moved to the Maternity Home where they found 20 pregnant girls whose ages ranged between 15 and 18 years. Following this, the proprietor of the home, Dr. Kenneth Akunna was arrested.
Akunna, who has been handed over to NAPTIP for more investigation is currently being detained by the organization. Denying that he runs an illegal home, he said that was duly registered as a non-governmental organization (NGO) with the Enugu State Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development. Akunna also said that apart from this,his establishment was also registered with other authorities and charged with such responsibilities. He denied being involved in merchandising of
babies to anybody, insisting that what his organization does was simply child fostering. He claimed that the pregnant girls remain with the home until they deliver and the babies are handed over to appropriate quarters for the next action. He did not disclose those who take the babies from his home. He equally denied collecting as much as N340,000 from Mrs Aguocha. He said he collects between N10,.000 and N20,000 from the girls. Akunna disclosed that he has been in the business for about 30 years now, explaining that he was into the business to discourage young girls from going into abortion or dumping babies into the gutters and pit toilets.
However, the Zonal Director of NAPTIP who also spoke to THISLIFE while confirming the detention of Akunna, said that his organization has taken over the upkeep of the 20 pregnant girls until they are delivered of their babies. She also disclosed that following the event, his organization would soon begin sensitization in the whole of the South East, in both urban and rural areas to educate parents and guardians to be more careful with the girls under their care.
Disclosing that a similar home was raided in Aba about three weeks ago where 13 pregnant girls were also found in a home, she disclosed that NAPTIP will be collaborating with state governments and civil society organizations to address the problem.
Warning homes who were hiding under the cover of non-governmental organization to commit heinous crime against humanity, Okoronkwo also said that her agency has the power to arrest and prosecute suspects involved in exploitation, sale or purchase of children to trafficking for prostitution purposes. She added, "the Act establishing NAPTIP clearly spelt out its duties and responsibilities. It empowers us to investigate, arrest for and prosecute offences relating to the abuse and exploitation of children,trafficking in human beings and other related offences and we will not spare anyone no matter his or her standing in implementing this mandate".
She said that her organization will go to any length to get to the truth of the matter in the case involving the alleged sale of babies in Uzor Oma Maternity Home. For instance, Mrs Okoronkwo said that it is difficult to believe that the woman who claimed she paid the sum of N340,000 could actually afford such amount. According to her, the woman may be fronting for somebody else.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 This Day. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
