Operatives of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) have rescued no fewer than 26 trafficked children from an orphanage in Benue State.
This was disclosed in a statement issued on Sunday in Abuja by the agency’s Press Officer, Mr. Vincent Adekoye.
According to the statement, one of the suspects, a 60-year-old man (name withheld), who is the founder of an internationally recognised civil society organisation, the National Council of Child’s Rights Advocates of Nigeria (NACRAN), is currently in custody. The suspect is being investigated in connection with alleged large-scale child trafficking, illegal adoption, and sale of children.
Adekoye added that a 34-year-old female accomplice was also arrested in connection with the crime.
In a related development, NAPTIP operatives also arrested two other orphanage operators in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and Nasarawa State, recovering several allegedly trafficked children in the process.
“The breakthrough operation, led by operatives of the agency in Makurdi, was carried out by the Benue State Command,” Adekoye said.
He explained that during the Makurdi operation, 26 children were rescued out of over 300 suspected to have been trafficked and sold to individuals in Benue, Enugu, Lagos, Nasarawa, and Abuja.
He said investigations are ongoing to trace the circumstances surrounding the remaining 274 children and to uncover the full extent of the syndicate’s operations.
Adekoye noted that the development came barely weeks after the Director-General of NAPTIP, Binta Adamu-Bello, expressed concern over the illegal activities of some orphanage operators across the country.
He said the latest operation was part of a renewed nationwide crackdown ordered by the Director-General on orphanages and care homes following multiple reports of alleged infractions and illegal adoptions.
According to Adekoye, the agency acted on a petition filed by a man who alleged that his four-year-old son had been given to an NGO by his mother-in-law without his consent. The complaint, he said, led to several arrests and the uncovering of a wider trafficking network.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the suspects exploited vulnerable families in Benue communities through a deceptive programme called the “Back to School Project.” The initiative was used to recruit children from crisis-ridden rural areas under the guise of offering them free education.
“The suspects held meetings with villagers and traditional leaders, convincing them that the project would sponsor their children’s education,” Adekoye explained.
“Parents were deceived into signing consent forms or verbally agreeing to release their children, with promises that they would be reunited after three years.”
Over 300 children, aged between one and thirteen years, were reportedly handed over to the syndicate. Many parents were unaware or did not give formal consent. The children were allegedly transported to orphanage homes in Abuja and Nasarawa, where they were sold to couples under the guise of adoption for sums ranging from ₦1 million to ₦3 million per child.
Some orphanages were reportedly used as holding centres where children awaited sale or illegal adoption.
Adekoye disclosed that four orphanage homes located in Kaigini, Kubwa (Abuja); Masaka Area I, Mararaba (by Abacha Road); and Mararaba (behind the International Market) have been linked to the syndicate and are under investigation.
“One complainant claimed he paid ₦2.8 million as an adoption fee and ₦100,000 as consultancy charges to a member of the group,” Adekoye said, adding that many of the rescued children’s identities had been altered, making reunification difficult.
Reacting to the arrests, NAPTIP Director-General, Hajiya Binta Adamu-Bello, described the case as “unbelievable and mind-boggling.”
“Child trafficking and illegal adoption have become a national crisis requiring urgent attention from all stakeholders,” she said.
“A few weeks ago, I alerted state Ministries of Women Affairs to the illegal activities of some orphanage operators across the country.”
Adamu-Bello lamented that some individuals were exploiting their social status to deceive vulnerable families in conflict-prone areas.
“These children, many of whom narrowly escape death during communal or farmer-herder clashes, are sold to unsuspecting couples under the pretext of adoption—without the consent of their biological parents.
“This is unacceptable. Those arrested will face the full wrath of the law. Our children are not commodities to be displayed in orphanages and sold to the highest bidders. This must stop,” she declared.
