The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) has arrested a 60-year-old prominent Benue-based member of an orphanage owners’ umbrella body in Nigeria and founder of the National Council of Child’s Right Advocates of Nigeria (NACCRAN), in connection with a large-scale child trafficking operation.

Meanwhile, a complainant whose name remains undisclosed for legal reasons has said that he paid ₦2.8 million as adoption fee and an additional ₦100,000 consultancy fee to a syndicate member operating under the guise of an orphanage.

In an operation led by NAPTIP’s Markudi Command following a tip-off, 26 children have been rescued out of over 300 suspected victims trafficked and sold across orphanages in Benue, Enugu, Lagos, Nasarawa, and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.

Efforts are ongoing to trace approximately 274 additional children.

Director-General of NAPTIP, Binta Bello, in a communique stated that the 60-year-old accused, whose name is also withheld, is suspected to be the mastermind behind the child trafficking ring.

She revealed that a 34-year-old female accomplice and two other orphanage operators in Abuja and Nasarawa were also apprehended.

The NAPTIP DG expressed concern over the activities of some orphanage operators, saying, “It is painful that some unpatriotic elements use their status to deceive vulnerable people in crisis-prone communities, trafficking their children and selling them under the guise of adoption without valid consent. Our children are not commodities to be displayed in orphanages and sold to the highest bidders. This must stop,” Bello stated.

Children aged between one and thirteen were allegedly transported to orphanages in Abuja and Nasarawa, where they were sold under the guise of adoption for amounts ranging from ₦1 million to ₦3 million each.

The operation, Bello said, follows a complaint lodged on May 1, 2025, regarding a father whose four-year-old son was reportedly given to an NGO by his mother-in-law without his consent.

“When he demanded the return of his child, he was told he could only see him after three years,” Bello explained.

This led to a broader investigation uncovering a network involved in illegal adoptions, the statement signed by NAPTIP’s Press Officer, Vincent Adekoya, noted.

Preliminary findings indicate that the suspects preyed on rural communities, claiming to run a “Back to School Project” to recruit children from areas affected by farmer–herder conflicts, particularly in Guma Local Government Area (LGA) and areas such as Daudu, Yelwata, and Ngban.

“Parents were misled into signing consent forms, believing their children would receive education, only to have over 300 children handed over to the suspects,” NAPTIP said.

The investigation also linked several orphanage homes in Abuja to the syndicate, which are now under scrutiny.

The NAPTIP boss described the situation as “unbelievable and mind-boggling” and reiterated the need for urgent action from all stakeholders. She said, “Those already arrested in connection with this wicked act shall face the full wrath of the law.”