Posted by Chinenye on Thu 20th Aug, 2026 - tori.ng
NAPTIP has shut down an illegal maternity facility in Port Harcourt after three children were allegedly sold for about N13.5 million.
(Illegal Maternity Home. Photo Credit: Sun Nigeria)
The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) has sealed an illegal maternity facility in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, because three children were allegedly sold to a suspected child trafficking ring.
According to the agency, its agents worked with the Rivers State Ministry of Health to carry out the operation, which resulted in the arrest of the facility's owner, a suspected transaction facilitator, and another employee.
The facility, which operated out of a residential flat in the Elelenwo neighborhood of Port Harcourt, was allegedly being used to obtain, sell, and transfer children unlawfully, according to a statement released by NAPTIP on Thursday.
According to our preliminary inquiry, a Liberian woman who lived in Belgium entered Nigeria without showing any signs of pregnancy and allegedly took custody of three children in less than a month.
According to the agency, "investigators also found evidence suggesting that approximately N13.5 million was paid in connection with the transfer of the three children."
In order to preserve evidence while investigations are ongoing, NAPTIP said that its operatives from Abuja and Rivers State conducted a synchronized raid on the facility and cordoned the area.
The agency stated, "We have started forensic and documentary investigations to establish the identities, whereabouts, and welfare of the children as well as determine their biological and legal parentage."
It further stated that detectives were following the money trail, tracking down persons engaged in the acquisition and transfer of the children, and investigating the potential involvement of medical professionals and other people associated with the purported trafficking network.
In response to the development, Binta Adamu Bello, Director-General of NAPTIP, voiced worry that foreigners were allegedly travelling to Nigeria in order to obtain children illegally.
She claimed that in order to find and apprehend everyone connected to the case, the agency had broadened its investigation.
"The safety and welfare of the affected children will remain our top priority, and anyone found guilty will face due process under the law," Bello stated.
Two Women Allegedly Attempt to St£al Baby in Rivers State, Apprehended by Community Members pic.twitter.com/Oj7mwApFPN
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