The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) has uncovered a child trafficking and illegal adoption syndicate operating between Benue State and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.
The agency’s operation in Nasarawa, Lagos, and Enugu led to the rescue of 26 trafficked children from over 300 reportedly sold across several states for sums ranging from N1m to N3m per child.
According to NAPTIP’s Chief Press Officer, Vincent Adekoye, 274 other children are still being traced as investigations deepen into what the agency described as one of the largest child trafficking operations uncovered in recent years.
Adekoye said, “Preliminary investigations revealed that the suspects feasted on the vulnerability of rural communities in Benue State through a voodoo initiative called the ‘Back to School Project.
“They recruited children from crisis-ridden areas in Guma Local Government Area, especially in Daudu, Yelwata, and Ngban, and trafficked them to Abuja, Nasarawa, Enugu, and Lagos States.”
The syndicate allegedly operated under the guise of a humanitarian and educational initiative, while convincing distressed parents and traditional leaders that their children were being offered sponsorship opportunities.
Many parents were said to have been deceived into signing consent forms—or verbally agreeing to release their children, with promises of reunion after three years.
The agency confirmed the arrest of a 60-year-old orphanage owner, a member of the Orphanage Owners’ Umbrella Body in Nigeria and founder of the National Council of Child Rights Advocates of Nigeria.
The suspect, arrested alongside three accomplices, allegedly used multiple orphanage homes in Abuja and Nasarawa to launder trafficked children through fraudulent adoption processes.
Four orphanages linked to the network located along Kaigini, Kubwa Expressway, Masaka Area 1, Abacha Road, Mararaba, and behind the International Market, Mararaba, have been sealed off pending investigation.
NAPTIP revealed that trafficked children, aged between one and thirteen years, were sold to “interested couples” under the pretext of legal adoptions. Their identities were allegedly altered through falsified documents and birth records, with the aid of complicit officials.
“The children’s names were changed, and new birth certificates issued to frustrate tracing efforts. In one case, a complainant alleged he paid ₦2.8 million as an adoption fee and ₦100,000 as consultancy charges to a member of the syndicate,” Adekoye explained.
The case, according to the agency came to light on May 1, 2025, after a father petitioned NAPTIP, claiming that his four-year-old son was handed to an NGO by his mother-in-law without his consent. When he demanded the child’s return, he was told he could only see him again “after three years.”
The petition triggered an investigation that exposed the complex network of child trafficking, illegal adoption, and document forgery across multiple states.
NAPTIP’s Director-General, Prof. Binta Bello, described the development as “unbelievable and mind-bugling,” and warned that child trafficking and illegal adoption have become a “national crisis” requiring immediate attention.
Bello said, “This is unacceptable. Those arrested in connection with this wicked act will face the full wrath of the law. Our children are not commodities to be displayed in orphanages and sold at will to the highest bidders. This must stop.”
Bello recalled that just weeks earlier, she had warned state ministries of women affairs about the growing illegal activities of some orphanage operators across the country.
“It is painful that some unpatriotic elements with recognised entities and social standing now use their influence to deceive vulnerable people in crisis-prone communities—trafficking their children and selling them under the guise of adoption,” she lamented.
The Director-General reaffirmed NAPTIP’s commitment to dismantling all fraudulent adoption networks and called on state governments to strengthen oversight of orphanages and faith-based child-care centres.
NAPTIP has vowed to prosecute all those involved and intensify efforts to locate and reunite the remaining 274 missing children with their families.
According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Nigeria ranks among Africa’s top five source countries for trafficked children, with many victims forced into domestic servitude, illegal adoption, or labour exploitation.
A 2023 joint report by UNICEF and NAPTIP estimated that thousands of Nigerian children are trafficked annually through fake orphanages, often in collaboration with corrupt officials who manipulate adoption documents.
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