The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Lagos State Command, has shut down a baby factory in the Badagry region of Lagos, near Okuju, Ilado.
According to Saturday PUNCH, the raid that took place on Wednesday night and into the early hours of Thursday saved 18 pregnant women and 10 toddlers and arrested the people who ran the institution.
People reported that the victims signed up for the service through an ad on Facebook.
When the expectant ladies give birth, they sell their babies and get paid between N500,000 and N1.8m.
The victims, who were between 18 and 30 years old, were shown off at the NSCDC headquarters in Badagry division, Ibereko, yesterday.
Some of the pregnant ladies who came to the center also had children and babies for sale to anyone who wanted to buy them.
At the ceremony, Commandant Adedotun Keshinro of the Lagos State NSCDC revealed that his officers swooped down on the enormous apartment with multiple rooms that housed the victims after three weeks of actionable intelligence.
Keshinro remarked, “They run a baby factory where they make people pregnant.” They sell the infants when they are born.
“The suspects lure pregnant women to come and talk to them about how they will take the babies away from them when they are born and pay them off.”
“Once they give birth, the babies will be taken from them and sold to customers, and the victims will be paid off.”
One of the 18 people who were saved was claimed to have lost a baby.
“There are 18 victims who are totally pregnant, but one of them lost the baby. So, 17 of them are pregnant right now. Keshinro went on to say, “And there are other babies there who are grown, and they are also here to be sold to people who are interested.”
The NSCDC Commandant declared that the people who ran the institution had committed a “grievous crime against humanity.” They would be turned over to the police for prosecution, and the victims would be turned over to the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons.
A pumping machine, generator set, standing fans, gas cylinders, a burner, cooking pots, phones, mats, toiletries, infant skin care goods, dinnerware, and a variety of food items were among the things found inside the facility.
Keshinro remarked, “We will give the Badagry facility to the state government.” The state government might decide to tear down the building so that they can’t use it for that purpose anymore.
Okeke, the facility’s main operator, told reporters that she moved to Badagry from Ikorodu in January to look for a bigger apartment.
Okeke stated she adopted kids for people who don’t have any.
She said, “We are adopting kids so that people who don’t have kids can have them.” I’ve been doing this for a few months now. I moved here from Ikorodu because I wanted a bigger flat. We used to live in Ikorodu. There are two of us running this facility.
She wouldn’t specify how much she buys a child or how they got to the facility, stating, “I can talk more when my lawyer is here.” I don’t want to discuss anymore.
“If you are questioning me, my lawyer should be there.”
Speaking with our correspondent, some of the victims said they subscribed to the centre after negotiating online with the operator that they would surrender their baby upon delivery and be paid.
One of the ladies said that they had agreed that she would get N1 million, while another said that they had offered her N1.8 million.
One woman, Joy, said she chose the clinic because she became pregnant with a “irresponsible man.”
She added that her mom was taking care of her two kids in the village before.
The women said they were well-fed every day, could use their phones, and even ask for medical help if they were sick. The only thing they couldn’t do was leave the institution whenever they wanted.
One of the women also said that part of the deal was that they may leave the center before giving birth, but they wouldn’t get any money.
Raphael Agwu, who was detained with the facility’s operator, said that the women come in pregnant and sign a contract to have their babies delivered and sold while they are paid off.
Agwu said he thought the center was a good option for women who were thinking about having an abortion and for couples who didn’t have kids.
“There are people in an online group who say that instead of having an abortion, you can come to us and we will take care of you,” he stated. And once you give birth, we’ll keep the baby for ourselves.
Facebook has groups for people who wish to adopt, get an abortion, or don’t want to get pregnant. They are groups that anyone can join. These people say they wish to put their child up for adoption, and the negotiations start.
“They were already pregnant and chose to give birth so that someone else might adopt the baby. So, because of that arrangement, they agreed and everything, so we could be protected.
Agwu, who said he works as a housekeeper, said that women are drawn to the facility because they are promised at least N1 million for selling their child at birth.
“They came by themselves. Agents told us about some of them. A lot of them brought their kids with them. Those kids you saw are all people who came with their kids.
“Some couples who don’t have kids come to us to adopt kids.” “I didn’t think it was a big crime because I thought they were helping some couples who don’t have kids,” he added.
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