The culprits should be brought to justice
The highly revealing report by investigative journalist, 'Fisayo Soyombo, on a most egregious form of human trafficking in our country should compel serious attention from relevant authorities. The report details how babies are being sold like merchandise at a popular Lagos orphanage home. Unfortunately, this is an old problem that has refused to go away, perhaps because perpetrators believe there are no consequences. Indeed, the United Nations ranks child trafficking as the third most common crime in Nigeria after financial fraud and drug trafficking. At least 10 babies are sold each day in Nigeria, according to the UN which has put the worth of the global child trafficking business at US$33 billion annually.
In June 2018, authorities in Imo said that there were no fewer than 250 illegal orphanages in the state. "Out of 272 homes across the state, only 15 were genuine while others were fake," said the then Special Assistant to (now former) Governor Rochas Okorocha on Non-Governmental Organisations and Allied Matters, Simeon Nwulu. "The rate at which children are being marketed and sold like ordinary articles of trade is alarming. At a peanut, the destiny of a child is destroyed and most of these adopters are not well-to-do to take care of these children." Since then, nothing seems to have changed but the malaise is national.
However, we are mindful that there are operators of licensed orphanages and couples who follow laid down procedures in adopting children and they should be encouraged. But those who take advantage of the increasing number of childless parents by engaging in shady deals for quick money should be exposed and decisively dealt with. They pose a threat to the health of our society.In the same vein, the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) must step up its supervisory and monitoring efforts on these orphanages by working hand-in-hand with security agencies, social welfare departments and the civil society.
We understand that the crime is thriving among some desperate persons who have come to regard it as a business because they have several official enablers on their payroll. That perhaps explains why they have operated for so long. Members of these syndicates also scout for young and impoverished females with unwanted pregnancies to lure them to many of the so-called homes and orphanages where they are kept until they are delivered of their babies which they then buy. In some cases, the services of young men are procured to impregnate these girls for the purpose of producing children that will be taken away from them. These children are then traded like commodities.
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It is important to tackle this menace because the adoption fad has assumed a new level of popularity in Nigeria with the number of potential adopters far exceeding what the legal orphanages could offer. In the process, we now have a situation in which even in popular orphanages, like the Lagos case, some unscrupulous people are now offering babies for sale to the highest bidders. It is therefore important for critical stakeholders to join hands with the security agencies and civil society groups to beam more searchlight on some of these orphanages. The approving authorities should equally raise the standard of establishing orphanages in Nigeria with a view to ensuring that every prospective operator meets some minimal conditions before they are licensed.
Meanwhile, we urge NAPTIP to work with the security agencies in investigating the case that has been brought to light in Lagos. If all the details provided in the story are found to be accurate, culprits should face the full wrath of the law to serve as deterrence to others.
