Over 70 minors, including newborns, discovered in Anambra orphanage
The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) has rescued eight children, aged between two and ten, suspected to have been stolen from Kano and other northern states and trafficked to the South–South and South–East regions by a notorious interstate child trafficking syndicate.
The children were reportedly found in a privately owned orphanage in Anambra State, operated by a top executive of the Association of Orphanage Operators in Nigeria. Officials said more than 70 minors, including 15 newborns, were discovered at the facility, though only eight were positively identified as missing children from Kano.
The rescue operation was conducted with the support of the Department of State Services (DSS) in Anambra, the Nigeria Police, Delta Command, the Kano State Ministry of Women Affairs, as well as civil society organisations and distressed parents.
NAPTIP Director-General, Dr. Binta Bello, condemned the “unwholesome activities” of some orphanages, stressing that the breakthrough was long overdue.
According to her, parents in Kano and neighbouring states have, since 2017, raised alarms over syndicates luring children away from schools, markets, and neighbourhoods. She noted that in December 2022, a Kano-based NGO, Protection Against the Abduction and Missing of Our Children (PATAMOOC), petitioned NAPTIP on behalf of more than 200 affected families.
Quoting parents’ anguish, Bello said: “We are in serious pain. Some of us are already hospitalised, while others have passed away due to the shock of losing our children and the continuous uncertainty of waiting daily for news — whether they will be found dead or alive.”
Authorities say investigations are ongoing to dismantle the wider syndicate and reunite more missing children with their families.
