NAPTIP Arrests 60-Year-Old Orphanage Owner Over Child Trafficking, 26 Children Rescued
NAPTIP Arrests 60-Year-Old Orphanage Owner, Rescues 26 Trafficked Children Sold for ₦1–₦3 Million Each as National Probe Deepens
The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) has arrested a 60-year-old prominent orphanage operator, who is also the founder of the National Council of Child’s Right Advocates of Nigeria (NACRAN), an internationally recognized civil society organization based in Benue State, over an alleged large-scale child trafficking, illegal adoption, and child sale racket.
According to a statement released on Sunday by NAPTIP’s National Press Officer, Vincent Adekoye, operatives from the Makurdi Command rescued 26 children out of more than 300 suspected to have been trafficked and sold across Benue, Enugu, Lagos, Nasarawa, and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja. Investigations are ongoing to trace the remaining 274 children and uncover the full extent of the criminal network.
Adekoye revealed that alongside the main suspect, a 34-year-old female accomplice and two other orphanage operators in Abuja and Nasarawa were also arrested. Some of the trafficked children were recovered from their facilities.
The arrests followed recent concerns raised by NAPTIP’s Director General, Binta Bello, about the growing number of orphanage operators involved in illegal activities. Bello had earlier directed intensified nationwide monitoring of orphanages and care homes to expose such practices.
The investigation began after a man reported on May 1, 2025, that his four-year-old son had been handed over to a non-governmental organization by his mother-in-law without his consent. When he demanded the return of his child, he was told he could only see him after three years. The complaint prompted NAPTIP to launch a full-scale probe, which uncovered a wider trafficking network.
Preliminary findings show that the syndicate exploited vulnerable families in crisis-ridden areas of Benue State under a deceptive initiative called the “Back to School Project.” The suspects reportedly convinced parents and community leaders in Guma Local Government Area—particularly in conflict-affected communities such as Daudu and Yelwata—that their children would receive educational sponsorship. Parents were misled into signing consent forms or giving verbal approval, believing their children would return after three years.
Instead, the children, aged between one and thirteen years, were allegedly trafficked to orphanages in Abuja and Nasarawa, where they were sold to unsuspecting couples under the guise of legal adoption for amounts ranging from ₦1 million to ₦3 million per child.
Four orphanages linked to the syndicate—located at Kaigini, Kubwa Expressway (Abuja); Masaka Area 1 and Mararaba (Nasarawa)—are currently under investigation. One complainant reportedly paid ₦2.8 million in adoption fees and ₦100,000 as a consultancy fee to a member of the group. NAPTIP also discovered that the identities of several rescued children had been changed to conceal their origins.
Reacting to the development, NAPTIP Director General Binta Bello described the case as “unbelievable and deeply disturbing.”
She said,
“What we are witnessing is a national crisis. Some orphanage operators, under the cover of recognized organizations, are exploiting vulnerable communities by deceiving parents and selling their children to the highest bidders in the name of adoption. This is unacceptable. Those involved will face the full weight of the law.”
“Our children are not commodities to be displayed in orphanages and sold off at will. This evil practice must stop.”
The agency has vowed to continue its crackdown on illegal orphanages and strengthen collaborations with state ministries of women affairs and law enforcement agencies to end the trafficking and exploitation of children in Nigeria.