Three Nigerians arrested for trafficking 35 pregnant women, newborn babies

The Nigeria Police Force, on Friday, paraded three members of a syndicate that specialised in buying and selling of newborn babies within and outside Nigeria.

The suspects are: Emmanuel Chigozie Elesuwa, 44; Chioma David, 33 and Chief Lilian Nma Achumba, 52 (Owner of Nma Charity Home in Aba, Abia State).

Parading the suspects, Deputy Force Public Relations Officer, Abuja, CSP Aremu Adeniran, said 35 pregnant girls/women, six children and one newborn baby were rescued at the Nma Charity and Rehabilitation Centre, Umunkpeyi.

He told newsmen in the state that on the 20th of July, 2018, the personnel of the Nigeria Police Force and the Nigerian Immigration Service, while on patrol, at the Idi-Iroko Border Post in Ogun State, intercepted the three suspects in possession of two newborn babies.

“The case was handed over to the anti-human trafficking and women/children protection unit of the Force for discrete investigation.

“Investigation revealed that the suspects are notorious criminals that deal in buying and selling of babies and children within and outside Nigeria.

“They admitted and confessed that they have been in operation for over 10 years. They further confessed that the 2 babies found in their possession were bought at the rate of N350k from Chief Lilian Nma Achumba.

“They also revealed that they were on their way to Benin Republic to sell the two newborn babies to their partners for N700k each,” he said.

He added that Achumba’s purpose of establishing the Orphanage Home was to harvest babies for sale and that she also operated other branches in Port-Harcourt and some other parts of the country.