Globally and daily, children are confronted with various forms of abuse, which governments and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have tried to address, albeit unsuccessfully. One of such abuses is child trafficking.
The increasing rate of trafficking in persons, especially children, has taken quite an alarming dimension with the multiplicity of orphanages and children’s homes. Curiously, no one is asking questions about what happens to these children in the course of their stay in these homes and where they are sent to ultimately.
We are persuaded to argue that most of these homes and orphanages trade off these children for cash. It is for this reason that we suggest that something urgent must be done by the authorities before the practice spirals out of control.
More troubling, in our view, is how some supposedly registered orphanages have become institutions where children are recruited for the purpose of exploitation and profit.
Instead of protection, care and education, children taken into some of these orphanages are trafficked and exposed to all forms of abuse, ranging from sexual abuse, forced labour, forced criminality and illegal adoption. Incidents of child trafficking in orphanages across the country have raised significant concerns.
Recently, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) authorities sealed off the Priesthood Orphanage after rescuing 23 children allegedly trafficked from Plateau State. The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) reported that some orphanages engage in trafficking, with 75 children recovered from one facility alone in 2024.
Also, in Ondo State, members of a child trafficking syndicate were arrested, and they confessed how they sold each child for the sum of N500,000.
Shockingly, one of the suspects, a 68-year-old former director from the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs in Anambra State, operated an orphanage called “Clarion Children’s Care and Reforms Initiatives” in Ihiala. Among the children recovered from the suspects were four 3-week-old babies, two weeks old, two months old, and ten other children.
The issue of traffickers using orphanages as cover is further compounded by the lack of regulation and oversight on the part of the government.
Available records indicate that approximately 95 per cent of orphanages are privately operated. In 2023 and 2024, the country witnessed alarming incidents of child trafficking linked to orphanages. Notably, the founder of the “Arrow of God” Orphanage was arraigned for allegedly buying and selling children. This further exposes the exploitative tendency within these institutions.
This abuse has continued to thrive due to failure on the part of the government to enforce stiff sanctions against perpetrators of this heinous act.
The operators are seldom caught. The 2021 Trafficking in Persons report for Nigeria, compiled by the US government, reports only 36 convictions.
Many orphanages operate without regulation, leading to exploitation and child trafficking. Traffickers often target these institutions, exploiting weak child protection systems to recruit children for forced labour and sexual exploitation. Reports also indicate that children in orphanages are sometimes coerced into leaving and trafficked for various forms of modern slavery. The situation is dire with systemic failures contributing to the cycle of vulnerability for these children.
It is also alleged that at least 10 babies are sold daily through illegally operated orphanages, with the United Nations (UN) ranking child trafficking as Nigeria’s third most common crime.
Recent actions by the authorities, such as the sealing of the Priesthood Orphanage in Abuja after rescuing 23 trafficked children, highlight ongoing concerns about exploitation and abuse in these facilities.
Furthermore, “baby factories” disguised as orphanages are known to force women into unwanted pregnancies for profit, contributing to a troubling cycle of trafficking.
Current laws in Nigeria, including the Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Enforcement and Administration Act and the Child Rights Act, aimed at combating child trafficking by imposing stringent penalties on perpetrators seem not to be effective enough to curb existing challenges made worse by corruption, lack of capacity on the part of officials and inadequate training in the area of handling trafficking cases. The implementation of existing laws is poor, as only 23 of Nigeria’s 36 states have adopted the Child Rights Act, leading to inconsistent enforcement across the country.
The government ought to play a crucial role in combating orphanages as conduits for child trafficking, and that is why, as a newspaper, we are calling on the authorities and other stakeholders to act expeditiously so as to save the future generation from those who hide under the cover of operating orphanages to scuttle their existence even before they have the opportunity to get started in their journey of life.
As a matter of urgency, all orphanages across the country should be profiled to eliminate the bad eggs among them.
In our opinion, there should be legislation compelling the implementation of laws that criminalise orphanage trafficking.
There is also the need for coordination across different government agencies to ensure a unified approach to child protection.
