“We rescued six girls last week at
different stages of pregnancy from an illegal maternity home in Port Harcourt,”
Joy Elomoko of the Imo State police told AFP.
She said the youngest of the girls was
14, without disclosing the ages of the others.
“We have also arrested the proprietress
of the clinic and she is assisting us in our investigation,” she said.
Elomoko said the raid on the Port
Harcourt home followed the arrest of a girl with a baby in nearby Owerri on
October 15.
“A lady was found in suspicious
circumstances with a day old baby and after interrogation she confessed that
she gave birth to a baby in Port Harcourt,” the police spokeswoman said.
Elomoko said police detectives followed
the girl to Port Harcourt where six expectant mothers were found in a clinic
run by a woman.
“The woman could not produce any
document authorising her to operate the clinic and she was subsequently
arrested,” she said.
She said the girls also told police
that they were being kept in the home to make babies which would be sold to
willing buyers.
Elomoko said the suspect would be taken
to court after police investigation.
Nigerian police have uncovered a series
of alleged baby factories in recent years, notably in the southeastern part of
the country. Baby boys can sell for a price of around $250 (180 euros), baby
girls for slightly less.
Human trafficking, including the
selling of children, is the third most common crime in Nigeria behind fraud and
drug trafficking, according to the United Nations.
Nigeria is Africa’s biggest oil producer, but poverty
is widespread across the country and most of the estimated 160 million people
still live on less than two dollars a day.
Punch
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