Enugu’s Child Trafficking Cartel Steals Babies From Mothers, Jail Them (pic) - Crime

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 .