The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) has rescued more than 180 children allegedly trafficked from five states, exposing a network of suspected criminal groups operating under the guise of civil society and humanitarian organisations.
In a statement released Monday, NAPTIP spokesman Vincent Adekoye confirmed that three children were recovered from a private building in Onitsha, Anambra State.
At the same time, another was found in the care of a nurse at the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Onitsha. The nurse has since been arrested.
Director General of NAPTIP, Binta Bello, described the findings as “deeply disturbing,” warning that trafficking syndicates are infiltrating communities devastated by insecurity.
“I am seriously disturbed by the activities of some persons masquerading as members of Civil Society Organisations, who have been fingered in several issues of child trafficking from across the country,” Bello said.
She explained that traffickers often present themselves as NGOs offering educational support, persuading vulnerable parents to release their children, only to traffic and allegedly sell them.
“It seems that they have been infiltrated by some criminal elements whose mission is to steal and traffic children for various reasons,” she added.
Bello urged civil society organisations to conduct “in-house cleansing” to expose members involved in criminal activities.
One father, whose three-year-old son was taken from Kajuru, Kaduna State, after gunmen displaced the community, shared his emotional reunion.
“I am overwhelmed with joy because I had initially lost hope of seeing my son,” he said.
“It is a mixture of joy and sadness for me because he looks very unkempt, unhappy, and it appears that he is being used as house help. On the other hand, I am happy that I am seeing him alive.”
NAPTIP disclosed that the arrested nurse confessed to obtaining a child from a prominent orphanage in Abuja in 2023, allegedly paying ₦771,000.
Investigators believe trafficked children are being funnelled through orphanages and sold under the guise of adoption.
The agency has established a Special Squad within its Investigation and Monitoring Department to trace missing children. Earlier operations recovered victims from Benue and Nasarawa States, some of whom were allegedly sold after being moved to orphanages.
Bello assured that the ongoing manhunt would bring perpetrators to justice, stressing that “those found culpable will face the full weight of the law.”
This latest breakthrough strengthens NAPTIP’s investigation into trafficking networks exploiting humanitarian platforms to carry out criminal activities.
