A new wave of making money through selling of new born babies and child trafficking is currently sweeping across Imo State. The racket is fast gaining prominence among people in the state as three suspected orphanage centres are involved in the illicit trade.
Apart from last week’s police arrest of 26 women from a named fake orphanage home in Umuaka, Njaba Local Government area of Imo state, said to be involved in the alleged baby-making business, men of the State Security Agencies, SSS, agencies uncovered another child-manufacturing factory at Umuguma in Owerri West LGA of the state.
The young women who were apprehended on Wednesday at a suspected centre for pregent women named Comfort Orphanage Home, Umuokoro Umuguma were taken to the office of the SSS in Owerri.
Our correspondent who observed the SSS raid at an uncompleted building disclosed that the place owned by one Pasto Chinedu is allegedly meant for child trafficking exercises as the wife of the proprietor is detained in Zone 9, Umuahia where she is telling police details of her involvement in the alleged sale of a new born baby.
It was further gathered that the said operators use another racketeer in the child selling syndicate, Ekenedilichukwu Orphanage and Maternity Centre, Ogbosisi, Umuguma, where the women go for labour to deliver the babies.
Willing person’s bidding for kids it was however gathered always throng the affected homes to buy children.
A young woman who gave birth during the week reportedly had her baby sold to an interested bidder at the maternity home. The operator of the home is also in police net for suspected child trafficking action.
It would be recalled that police had revealed that the women rescued from the Umuaka in a controversial orphanage centre confessed to have been hooked into bearing children where they are paid N50,000 whereas the new born babies are sold at N800,000 for male, N450,000 for female.
Meanwhile, the commissioner for women affairs and social development has taken custody of the 14 pregnant women and some kids rescued from the suspected orphanage centre in Umuguma. The Commissioner Mrs Ann Dozie was spotted at the premises of the SSS headquarters yesterday taking the pregnant away. Alarmed by the development, commissioner Dozie stormed the SSS premises with two buses which ferried the women away from the complex to unknown destination.
Trumpeta made desperate attempts to confirm where they women were taken to but the phone line of the commissioner was not accessible as at the time of going to press.
