The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) has achieved a significant breakthrough in combating child trafficking, leading to the arrest of a 60-year-old influential figure in Nigeria. This individual, who is the founder of the internationally recognized Civil Society Organisation, National Council of Child’s Right Advocates of Nigeria (NACRAN), based in Benue State, and a prominent member of the Orphanage Owners Umbrella Body, was apprehended in connection with an alleged large-scale operation involving child trafficking, child sale, and illegal adoption. Alongside him, a 34-year-old female accomplice and two other orphanage operators from the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, and Nasarawa State were also taken into custody, with several trafficked children recovered from their facilities.

The investigation was initiated following a complaint lodged on May 1, 2025, by a distraught father who reported that his four-year-old son had been handed over by his mother-in-law to an NGO without his consent. When the father demanded his child's return, he was informed he would not be able to see him for three years. This petition to NAPTIP quickly exposed a wider network engaged in illegal adoptions and trafficking.

Preliminary findings revealed a disturbing modus operandi: the suspects exploited the vulnerability of rural communities in Benue State, particularly those affected by farmer-herder conflicts in areas like Guma LGA, including Daudu, Yelwata, and Ngban. They used a deceptive initiative called the “Back to School Project” to recruit children. Through meetings with villagers and traditional leaders, parents were misled into believing their children would receive educational sponsorship. Many guardians were tricked into signing consent forms or verbally agreeing to release their children, with false promises of reunification after three years. Reports indicate that over 300 children were handed over under these pretenses, some even without parental consent.

The trafficked children, aged between one and thirteen years, were transported to various orphanages in Abuja and Nasarawa States. There, they were allegedly sold to interested couples under the guise of adoption, for amounts ranging from ₦1 million to ₦3 million per child. These orphanages functioned as temporary holding centers where children awaited sale or “adoption.” Four specific orphanages have been identified and are currently under investigation: one at Kaigini, Kubwa Expressway, Abuja; one at Masaka Area 1, Mararaba (by Abaca Road); and another behind the International Market in Mararaba.

In an operation spearheaded by NAPTIP’s Makurdi Command, 26 children have been successfully rescued out of the estimated over 300 victims. Efforts are intensifying to locate the remaining 274 children, as investigations continue to uncover the full extent of the syndicate's activities. Complications arose in tracing efforts due to many rescued children having their identities and names altered. One complainant testified to paying ₦2.8 million as an adoption fee and an additional ₦100,000 as a consultancy charge to a syndicate member.

NAPTIP’s Director-General, Binta Adamu Bello, OON, described the revelations as “unbelievable and mind-boggling.” She reiterated her earlier concerns about the unwholesome activities of some orphanage operators, which she had publicly voiced weeks prior, urging state ministries of Women Affairs to closely monitor these centers. Bello emphasized that child trafficking and illegal adoption are becoming a national crisis requiring urgent attention from all stakeholders. She condemned the actions of “unpatriotic elements” who use their social status to exploit vulnerable communities, selling children who often narrowly escaped death in crisis-prone areas. The NAPTIP boss firmly stated, “Our children are not commodities to be displayed in orphanages and sold at will to the highest bidders. This must stop,” promising that those arrested would face the full wrath of the law as part of NAPTIP’s renewed national crackdown on illicit orphanage and childcare institutions.