MEN of the Akwa Ibom State Police Command have arrested a native doctor operating a baby factory in Uyo as part of a major clampdown on child trafficking and the syndicates that operate the industry across the state.
Of late, child trafficking has become a major menace in Nigeria with baby factories springing up across the country. Wealthy couples unable to have children have been known to pay hefty sums to under-privileged girls and young women who are lured into these factories to produce babies for a pittance.
In a bit to eliminate the menace the Akwa Ibom State Police Command carried out a major raid over the weekend, arresting 11 suspects, with most of them confessing to the crime. Murtala Mani, the Akwa Ibom State police commissioner, said that the native doctor whose name was not disclosed killed his lover’s son aged 14 for undisclosed reasons and hurriedly buried the body in an attempt to escape the crime.
According to Mr Mani based on a tip-off, the police swooped on the native doctor at the point whereby he went to exhume the corpse of the deceased. During the raid, discovered the body and also arrested a woman who owns and operates an illegal maternity home in the state.
“The woman specialises in making sure that she takes in pregnant teenagers and once the babies are delivered, they will be sold and trafficked out of the state. We have intercepted her,” Mr Mani added.
Similarly, the police have recovered a two months old baby girl who was sold for the sum of N450, 000 through a syndicate that included the baby’s mother, agent and the buyer. It is not yet clear when the accused will be arraigned in court.
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