Stamp out ‘baby factories’ in Nigeria now

DEEP in the bowels of Nigeria, a sinister reality lurks beneath the surface, hidden from the public view but devastating in its consequences –‘baby factories.’A fresh chapteraroselast week when officersfromthe Abia State Police Command busted a baby factory at Aba, the commercial hub of the state, and rescued 16 pregnant inmates. Despite the frequency of these discoveries, it is shocking that many young girls are still falling victim of the get-rich quick schemes of these criminal gangs.

A ‘baby factory’ is an enclave where organised criminal gangs camp women – mostly teenagers – and get them impregnated by men. Upon delivery, the babies are sold off to childless couples or for rituals.A few years ago, a victim told the media that they were blindfolded after being delivered of their babies and taken awayfrom the facility so that they would not identify it.

In the latest case, the police also rescued eight children, which comprised five males and three females along with the pregnant women.

Parading the inmates on Friday, a police officer attached to the Rapid Response Squad that led the operation said that the rescue of the inmates followed credible information by locals at their disposal. In policing, intelligence gathering is key to success. The police should intensify their collaboration with their communities, gathering vital intelligence that can lead to the discovery of these baby factories.

The existence of these obscure facilities underscores deep-seated societal issues, government negligence, and systemic failures that perpetuate their existence.

Essentially, these clandestine operators thrive on the desperation of vulnerable young womenwhoare willing to exploit their bodies for a profit. Without a hoot, they treat the newborns as commodities that they exchange for ephemeral financial gain.

It is heartbreaking that in this era, some Nigerians still engage in crude practices such as this – camping underage girls in a room, getting men to get them pregnant and selling the babies off like commodities for childless couples or for ritual purposes.

Sixteen young girls, all pregnant, were meant to pause their lives to pursue something as cruel as this – child trafficking. The Abia State Government must not sweep this case under the carpet becausethis is organised crime. The culprits must be brought to book.

In the present case, the state’s Rapid Response Squad alleged that it found one Oyinyechi, a facilitator, who is also pregnant and arrested a woman, whom officers identified only as ‘Nurse,’ and her husband, who runs the factory. They all must be made to face the full weight of the law for this cruelty.

This is not the first time Abia is in the news for a case such as this. In June 2023, 22 pregnant young girls and two babies were rescued from Ohafia, a local government area in Abia, where they were held hostage.

According to a Nigerian Army officer, the raid was launched following an intelligence report that “the owner of the factory was selling some of these babies to criminal agents for ritual purposes, and others for child trafficking.” This is a terrible experience. It can only be imagined what these helpless babies go through in the hands of their captors.

Nigeria gained international odium for this practice in 2006 when UNESCO coined the term ‘baby factory’ for it. Shortly afterthis in 2007in Enugu State, the police rescued19 pregnant girls; and over 20 teenagersin 2008.

That is not all. In 2009, over six baby factories were uncovered in the country.In early 2010, 77 teenage girls were rescued in Abia. In 2011, 32 pregnant girls, whose babies were then up for sale, were rescued. In 2018, 160 girls were rescued from a Lagos camp, according to a report by theOrganisation for World Peace.In 2019, the police rescued 19 girls from some properties in LagosState. This is an epidemic. Other states where baby factories have been discovered include Rivers, and Delta.

This time, the government must show leadership by making sure anyone found culpable in this act is prosecuted to the full extent of the law. With new laws, the government should think of handing out stiffer punishments to those involved.

For the baby factory business in Nigeria to be thriving, it only means there is a booming market of buyers. This is bizarre and unfortunate. People “order” for these children for whatever purposes and the purveyors of wickedness offer these evil services.

In March 2020, the House of Representatives called on the Federal Government to eradicate the menace. A lawmaker, Ossy Prestige, who moved a motion on it, said, “According to a report by the United Nations, at least 10 babies are illegally sold every day in Nigeria, a development that is worrisome and poses a great threat to national security, especially with the global rise in human organs trafficking.” This is disturbing.

According to UNESCO, it was the third most heinous crime in Nigeria after financial fraud and drug trafficking as of 2006.

Yet, there is a legal pathway for couples seeking children to pass through should they want to adopt. It is true that the process is cumbersome, but it is the only legal way to adopt a child. Buying a baby by patronising these baby factories is weird and a crimeand should be treated as such under every circumstance.

Greed, poverty, and exploitation are at the root of this problem.Parents, NGOs, faith-based organisations must join the government to sanitise the minds of the youths that there are better, legal pathways to wealth creation that selling their bodies and babies for money for whatever reason.

The psychological and emotional effects this menace has on these underage girls can last a lifetime. One, those ensnared by it stop schooling. In the digital age, they become irrelevant to society and themselves. Two, they are left to suffer the consequences that come with this sexual abuse much later in life.

Those who are profiting from this evil trade must be identified and thoroughly prosecuted. Some orphanages have also been identified as a disguise for buying and selling of babies. The police, Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Ministry of Women Affairs, the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons, and related agencies must be at alert to turn the tide in this terrible scheme.