Checking The Baby Factory Syndrome

The Rivers State Police Command early this month raided an illegal foster home for children, God’s Gift Maternity/Hospital in Elelenwo, Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of the state, where they arrested the operator who claimed to be an invitro-fertilisation specialist for an alleged attempt to sell a baby.

According to the police, the operator of the home induces women looking for babies with substances to make them appear pregnant and then arranges stolen babies for them after collecting huge sums of money from the un-suspecting patrons.

On this occasion, the police also discovered a day-old baby, waiting to be given to a client who had been made to think she was pregnant and was due to be delivered of a baby on that day. This illegal trading in babies has been exposed for years now but very little seem to have been done about it.

In 2008, the police in Enugu smashed a syndicate operating a network of baby factories under the guise of orphanages, and provided a window for desperate couples to procure babies, illegally obtained earlier from young girls who had been encouraged to keep their un-wanted pregnancies.

In spite of the national condemnation that discovery attracted, the trend had continued un-abated. Fortunately, the police had uncovered more of such homes across the southern part of Nigeria. In some cases, they freed young pregnant girls being forced to have babies for sale.

On May 10 this year, the police in Imo State smashed another illegal home at Umuaka village, near Owerri, where 17 pregnant girls between the ages of 14 and 17, were freed along with 11 babies, while the owner of the baby factory, simply called ‘Madam One Thousand’, escaped. The girls, who claimed they were fed only once daily and never allowed to leave the premises, said they were impregnated by a 23-year old man, who provided security for the home.

This cannot be happening at this modern age and in a place like Nigeria. Certainly, not at the level of civilisation of the country. This cannot be happening where there is a law against such baby trade. Such law is supposed to be in operation, especially where human life is held sacred. But this scourge seems to escape the concern of society like the trafficking in women in its early days.

The Tide thinks that this is not only illegal, it is a horrendous crime against humanity. This can no longer be seen as a mere desperation for the fruit of the womb because the possible fall out of this crime cannot be fully realised now. With the twin crime of human assault on sacrifice dignity and cult related vitual the trend holds out nothing but evil for our nation.

We, therefore, condemn this unwholesome practice in its entirety, particularly because of the health and social consequences associated with it, and mostly because this form of criminal activity simply goes against the grain of human thought and decency. Nothing can justify it as the violation of the fundamental rights of both the unfortunate babies and their teenage mothers stand denied.

This is why we call on government to see this matter as a national emergency, and ensure that appropriate institutions are empowered to combat the menace head on. We expect that the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons, faith-based organisations, civil societies and women rights groups would join in this campaign.

Government must ensure that homes used for child trafficking were closed, alongside existing baby factories operating under the guise of hospitals, maternities or NGOs in any part of the country.

On its part, government must also ensure that all those arrested in connection with the illegal production, procurement and sale or purchase of babies are prosecuted, while the licences of medical personnels involved in the act should be withdrawn.

While we expect the security agencies to do better, adequate enlightenment and awareness campaigns should be embarked upon to properly alert the citizenry. People should be encouraged to adopt babies the right way through legal adoptions based on existing rules. To enhance that, we expect that the procedures would not be made extra-ordinarily cumbersome as claimed in some quarters. The time to act is now.