The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) has achieved a significant breakthrough, dismantling a large-scale child trafficking syndicate and apprehending a 60-year-old prominent orphanage owner from Benue State. This individual, also the founder of the National Council of Child’s Right Advocates of Nigeria (NACRAN), was arrested in connection with alleged child trafficking, child sale, and illegal adoption operations spanning Benue, Enugu, Lagos, Nasarawa, and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja. The operation, spearheaded by NAPTIP’s Makurdi Command, led to the rescue of 26 children out of an estimated over 300 suspected to have been trafficked, with efforts ongoing to trace the remaining 274.

Accompanying the main suspect in the arrests were a 34-year-old female accomplice and two other orphanage operators located in Abuja and Nasarawa State, where additional trafficked children were recovered. This crackdown follows recent concerns raised by NAPTIP Director-General, Mrs. Binta Bello, regarding the illicit activities of some orphanage operators in Nigeria. The Director-General had urged state ministries of women affairs to scrutinize these centers, leading to a renewed offensive against such infractions across the country.

The investigation was initiated after a complaint lodged on May 1, 2025, by a father whose four-year-old son was given to an NGO by his mother-in-law without his consent. When the father requested his child’s return, he was informed he could only see him after three years. This petition to NAPTIP unraveled a broader network involved in illegal adoption and trafficking.

Preliminary findings expose the syndicate’s deceptive tactics, primarily targeting vulnerable rural communities in Benue State, particularly in crisis-ridden areas affected by farmer–herder conflicts such as Guma Local Government Area, Daudu, Yelwata, and Ngban. The group operated under the guise of a “Back to School Project,” organizing meetings with villagers and traditional leaders to convince parents that the project would sponsor their children’s education. Parents were misled into signing consent forms or verbally agreeing to release their children, under false promises of seeing them again after three years. It is reported that over 300 children were handed over to the suspects, with some parents even unaware of or not signing any consent forms.

The trafficked children, aged between one and thirteen years, were transported to various orphanage homes in Abuja and Nasarawa States. These facilities allegedly served as “holding centers” where children awaited sale to interested couples under the guise of adoption, with prices ranging from ₦1 million to ₦3 million per child. Identified orphanages linked to the syndicate and currently under investigation include four locations at Kaigini, Kubuwa Expressway, Abuja; Masaka Area 1, Mararaba, by Abaca Road; and Mararaba, behind the International Market. One complainant revealed paying ₦2.8 million as an adoption fee and an additional ₦100,000 consultancy fee to a syndicate member. A significant challenge in tracing the victims is that the identities of many rescued children had been changed.

Director-General Binta Bello described the revelations as “unbelievable and mind-boggling,” emphasizing that child trafficking and illegal adoption are escalating into a national crisis. She reiterated her concern over “unpatriotic elements” using their social status to exploit vulnerable populations, trafficking children who often barely escape other crises, and selling them to desperate parents under the false pretense of adoption. Bello firmly stated, “Our children are not commodities to be displayed in orphanages and sold at will to the highest bidders. This must stop,” warning that all those arrested would face the full wrath of the law.