A rescue operation has exposed a disturbing alleged child-trafficking pipeline stretching from crisis-hit communities to urban centres.
The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) says it has rescued more than 180 children allegedly trafficked from five states and uncovered suspected criminal networks operating under the cover of civil society and humanitarian organisations.
Among the latest developments was the arrest of a nurse at the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Onitsha, Anambra State, after investigators allegedly found one of the rescued children in her possession.
Children Taken From Crisis-Hit Communities
NAPTIP spokesman Vincent Adekoye said in a statement on Monday that investigators recovered three children allegedly taken from vulnerable families in Kajuru, Kaduna State.
The children had reportedly been moved to a high-rise private building in a choice area of Onitsha.
A fourth child was recovered from the care of the nurse at FMC Onitsha, according to the agency.
The cases have raised fresh concerns about how trafficking groups may be exploiting families displaced or impoverished by insecurity.
Traffickers Allegedly Posing as Aid Workers
NAPTIP Director General Binta Bello said investigators had identified a troubling pattern.
According to her, suspected traffickers allegedly approach families in communities affected by conflict and other crises while presenting themselves as representatives of organisations offering education, welfare assistance or back-to-school programmes.
Parents, believing their children will receive better educational and living conditions in the cities, allegedly hand them over.
The children may then disappear from their families’ reach.
Bello is calling for an internal investigation across the civil society sector, particularly among organisations involved in humanitarian and anti-trafficking work.
She urged the umbrella body of civil society organisations in Nigeria to identify and remove members allegedly involved in criminal activity.
NAPTIP has also begun a manhunt for people identified during its investigations. The agency said anyone found culpable would face prosecution.
Father Finds Missing Son After Three Years
For one father, the investigation brought an extraordinary reunion.
His three-year-old son was allegedly taken from Kajuru after gunmen attacked the community about three years ago.
Following the displacement of residents, the father said, people known within the community approached affected families and claimed to represent an NGO helping victims of insecurity.
The group allegedly offered to take children to the city for education and welfare support.
The father eventually lost contact with them—and with his son.
Years later, he recognised the boy after seeing his photograph on NAPTIP’s Facebook page.
The child, now six, was among those recovered by the agency.
The reunion brought relief, but also painful questions.
The father said his son appeared unkempt and unhappy and seemed to have been used as a domestic worker.
He described the moment as a mixture of happiness and sadness, saying he was grateful to see his child alive despite his condition.
Nurse Allegedly Paid N771,000 for Child
The investigation also led to the arrest of the FMC Onitsha nurse.
NAPTIP said she told investigators that she obtained the child from a prominent orphanage in Abuja in 2023.
The agency alleged that the nurse admitted paying N771,000 for the child.
Investigators are now examining a suspected system in which children allegedly removed from vulnerable families are transferred to orphanages before being sold to individuals under the appearance of legitimate adoption arrangements.
How the Investigation Began
NAPTIP previously created a Special Squad within its Investigation and Monitoring Department following multiple reports of missing children across Nigeria.
The unit was tasked with locating allegedly trafficked children, recovering them and pursuing those responsible.
According to NAPTIP, the squad’s initial recoveries involved children allegedly taken from communities in Benue and Nasarawa states and moved to orphanages in Abuja and elsewhere.
The agency alleged that some of those children were later sold to unidentified individuals, with significant sums reportedly changing hands under the guise of adoption.
A Wider Network Under Investigation
The latest recoveries have expanded the scope of the investigation.
NAPTIP is now examining not only the people allegedly transporting and selling children, but also the organisations, orphanages and intermediaries that may have helped move them through the system.
The agency’s warning is clear: legitimate humanitarian work must not become a shield for criminal activity.
For families already devastated by insecurity, the alleged trafficking scheme adds another layer of vulnerability—turning promises of safety and education into a potential route to losing their children.