Offenders should be brought to justice
In the latest of what has become a scandalous business in human trafficking and associated crimes in Nigeria, military troops from the 14 Brigade of Nigerian Army recently rescued 22 girls from the facility of a 'baby factory' at Umunkpei Nvosi community in Abia State. Twenty one of them were already pregnant. The raid was carried out following an intelligence report that the factory owner was selling babies to criminal elements, including ritualists. Ferdinand Ekeoma, the Media Adviser to Governor Alex Otti, said there was no justification why "this kind of thing should be happening in any part of Abia State".
Unfortunately, the crime is thriving in many states across the south. Members of these syndicates scout for young and impoverished females with unwanted pregnancies and lure them to many of the so-called homes and orphanages. These girls are then held captive until they give birth and compelled to give up their babies for varying sums of money per head, depending on the sex. In some cases, young men are brought into the homes to impregnate girls for fees. By the code of this organised crime, young girls are deliberately impregnated for the purpose of producing children that will be taken away from them and traded almost like commodities.
This illicit trade is part of an international ring in human slavery and organ trafficking for which our country is becoming increasingly notorious. Indeed, the United Nations once ranked child trafficking as the third most common crime in Nigeria after financial fraud and drug trafficking. According to the UN, at least 10 babies are sold each day in Nigeria, and put the worth of the global child trafficking business at US$33 billion annually. The Association of Orphanages and Homes Operators in Nigeria (ASOHON) once made a commitment to help combat the growing menace. "Our goal is to chart a course for our industry and brainstorm on actionable solutions to problems confronting the association and Nigerian orphans. We hope to bring orphanages across the country together to network and exchange information and ideas that will provide a way forward to the many challenges that abound," ASOHON had pledged. However, not much seems to have changed.
We enjoin the authorities and relevant stakeholders to tackle this social menace. Since there is little information in the public domain to ascertain whether any of the past offenders was ever brought to justice, one of the options being recommended is diligent prosecution of operators of illegal homes and orphanages. That would serve as deterrent to those engaged in the nefarious trade. Communities, individuals, and other stakeholders could assist by informing security agencies of the growing menace in their neighbourhoods.
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We must stress, however, that there are many childless couples who have had, or wish to have, their own babies through the normal process of adoption as allowed by law. And there are genuine orphanages doing wonderful work for the society in this regard. But as the adoption fad assumes a new level of popularity in Nigeria with the number of potential adopters far exceeding what the legal orphanages could offer, there has been an equal rise in the mushrooming of motherless babies' homes. In the process, we now have orphanages which in a desperate quest for quick money sell babies even to known ritualists.
That is why we call on the relevant authorities especially the social welfare departments and Ministry of Women Affairs, as well as the NAPTIP, security agencies and civil society groups to step up their supervisory and monitoring efforts on these orphanages. The approving authorities should equally ensure that certain minimal conditions are met by would-be operators of orphanages.
