Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has raised the alarm over reports that some young Nigerians are considering selling their kidneys to cope with worsening economic hardship.
Atiku, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate for the 2027 election, said the reported development was a disturbing indication of the depth of Nigeria’s cost-of-living crisis.
In a statement on Friday, he said young Nigerians were increasingly being pushed towards desperate measures to meet basic needs.
“I have heard disturbing stories about the extent to which young Nigerians are being driven simply to survive,” Atiku said, describing reports of young people selling parts of their bodies, particularly kidneys, as among the most troubling consequences of the economic situation.
He said young Nigerians should be using their creativity and talents to build careers, businesses and innovative solutions rather than considering the sale of their organs.
According to Atiku, reports indicate that some young Nigerians could be willing to sell a kidney for as little as ₦1.7 million. However, the figure was not independently verified in the report.
The former vice president blamed the situation on rising living costs, citing increases in the prices of food, transportation, rent, school fees, medicine and electricity.
He argued that the hardship had reached a point where some young people were beginning to view their body organs as a possible financial fallback.
“When young Nigerians begin to see their kidneys as emergency savings, we are no longer talking about ordinary economic hardship. We are talking about desperation at its most frightening,” he said.
Atiku acknowledged that Nigeria has laws prohibiting commercial organ sales and organ trafficking but maintained that enforcement alone would not address the economic vulnerabilities that could expose young people to exploitation.
“Laws alone cannot cure the poverty and desperation that make vulnerable young people easy prey for criminal networks,” he said.
He called for economic reforms that would have a direct impact on citizens’ living conditions, including lower food and transportation costs, accessible healthcare, decent employment opportunities and improved prospects for young people.
“Economic reform must have a human face,” Atiku said.
He added that Nigeria’s youths should be selling their ideas, talents and innovations to the world rather than their kidneys to survive.
Atiku’s comments come amid reports of an alleged organ-harvesting and human-trafficking operation under investigation by the Nigeria Police Force. The investigation reportedly involves four suspects, including two nephrologists.
The former vice president said the alleged trend of young Nigerians considering kidney sales should be treated as a warning about the human consequences of economic hardship.
“This is the human cost of Nigeria’s cost-of-living crisis,” he said.
