In the last few years in Enugu State, baby factories have been busted by law enforcement agencies, but SUNDAY PUNCH investigation reveals that government officials in Enugu State are neck - deep in a baby trafficking syndicate , BAYO AKINLOYE writes
Clang ! The worn, sturdy iron door ominously closed behind her as she was led out of a dinghy cell by a female prison official . As she trudged across a coarse field where male inmates were playing football , her head remained bowed like someone being led to the gallows.
With a foreboding façade, the prison houses 1 , 994 inmates; 58 of them are females , and one of them is Chijindu Nworie.
For more than a year, 22 -year -old Nworie has been held behind bars – against her will – at the Enugu State Prison . Seating with a forlorn look inside the prison yard, the dark - complexioned woman told our correspondent about her descent from a maternity home into prison.
Nworie was working as a salesgirl when she got pregnant for her boyfriend. Out of shame and fear, she said she ran away from her uncle ’ s home , Uchenna Nworie , who is now based in Cote d’ Ivoire.
“ While looking for a clinic to take care of my pregnancy I was directed to Moonlight Hospital. There , I was introduced to a doctor; his name is Dr . Ozor Akpudachie . At that clinic I also met two other girls: Miracle Onwe and Ajie Chigozie , ” she stated.
The number of baby factories – the name given to homes where pregnant girls are kept and their babies trafficked upon delivery – has been on the rise . Even though statistics on the number of baby factories busted by the police are not available , the reports of such raids are seen in newspapers almost on a regular basis.
The United Nations Protocol on Trafficking describes trafficking in humans as “all acts related to recruitment , transport , sale or purchase of individuals through force, fraud or other coercive means , for the purpose of exploitation . ”
An estimated 12 million people are living in slavery worldwide , and about 700,000 persons are trafficked across various international borders , including Nigeria , annually.
In Nigeria, there is no reliable estimate of the number of children trafficked. According to the current Trafficking in Persons Report , published annually by the United States Government , Nigeria is a source , transit , and destination country for women and children subjected to forced labour and sex trafficking .
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