The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) has uncovered a major child trafficking network in Benue State and arrested a 60-year-old orphanage owner and founder of a non-governmental organization (NGO) alongside three others for their alleged involvement.
The operation was launched after credible information linked the group to the illegal trafficking and adoption of children under the guise of an educational support initiative.
The suspects were arrested in Makurdi, Benue State, yesterday following weeks of intelligence gathering and surveillance by operatives of NAPTIP’s Makurdi Command.
According to NAPTIP, the suspects operated an organized syndicate that recruited children from crisis-hit rural communities in Guma Local Government Area through a fake programme called the “Back to School Project.”
They allegedly lured parents with promises of sponsorship and collected verbal or written consent before taking the children away.
The victims, aged between one and thirteen years, were later transported to Abuja and Nasarawa States, where they were allegedly sold to couples for between ₦1 million and ₦3 million each.
During the operation, 26 children were rescued, while over 274 others are still being traced. NAPTIP said some of the children’s identities had been changed, making family reunification more difficult.
The agency added that some of the orphanages used as holding centers were located in Kaigini, Kubuwa Expressway, Masaka Area 1, and Mararaba in Abuja and Nasarawa State.
The case was first uncovered after a man reported in May 2025 that his four-year-old son had been handed over to an NGO by his mother-in-law without his consent.
His report triggered a full-scale investigation that exposed a wider child trafficking network operating under the pretext of humanitarian work.
Preliminary findings showed that the syndicate targeted families displaced by farmer-herder conflicts in communities such as Daudu, Yelwata, and Ngban, deceiving them with promises of educational support. Some parents later discovered their children had been adopted or sold without due process.
Reacting to the development, NAPTIP Director-General Binta Adamu Bello (OON) described the discovery as “unbelievable and mind-boggling,” warning that the agency will not tolerate the exploitation of vulnerable families.
“Our children are not commodities to be displayed in orphanages and sold at will to the highest bidders. This must stop,” Bello said, condemning what she called “unpatriotic acts” by individuals hiding under humanitarian work to traffic children.
She urged the Federal and State Ministries of Women Affairs to strengthen monitoring and regulation of orphanages nationwide, assuring that all those involved would face the full weight of the law.
