Yet another underground baby factory was discovered recently following the attempted theft of a four-year-old child who was returning home from school. Investigation by police forces led them to the factory where a group of pregnant young women aged between 18-21 were rescued.

Illegal baby factories in Nigeria are still operating. In fact, they are on the rise. Often small businesses disguised as private medical clinics, orphanages, or even social welfare homes, these factories are part of the wider human trafficking industry. Child harvesting—the systematic sale of human children—has risen as a lucrative trade in the country’s black market. Although described as the third most common crime in the country after drug trafficking and financial fraud by a 2006 UNESCO report, efforts to stop its operations have found little success. So, why do these factories exist in the first place?  

Several factors contribute to the existence of baby factories in Nigeria. Social stigma plays a significant part. Desperate teenagers with unwanted pregnancies are sometimes convinced to give up their babies for financial gain. Additionally, the stigmatisation of infertility in the country leads to a high demand for babies by infertile couples who are unwilling to associate publicly with adoption or surrogacy due to the additional stigma attached to it.     

Poverty is also an important factor. A 2019 report by the National Bureau of Statistics highlighted that 40% of the total population, almost 83 million people, live below the country’s poverty line of 137,430 naira ($381.75) per year. This poverty is often intergenerational. To young women, who are more vulnerable to coercion by traffickers, breeding babies is presented as an easy means of making money.  

A DIRTY, PROFITABLE BUSINESS

As a naturally patriarchal society, male children are valued more than female children and hence are sold at a higher price. A report by Al Jazeera found that the going rate for baby boys was between 700,000 naira (about $2,000 at the time of this writing) to one million naira ($2,700), while baby girls were sold for prices between 500,000 naira (about $1,350) and 700,000 naira (about $1,700).

Sometimes, to produce babies, women are kidnapped and raped. These babies are then forcefully taken away from them and sold for adoption (often abroad) or trafficked to become prostitutes or child labourers. This form of human trafficking is clearly a profitable business, as beyond Nigeria illegal baby factories have been found in countries from Thailand to Guatemala. The human trafficking industry itself generates about $150 billion annually.

As this industry operates in direct violation of internationally recognised basic child rights, what efforts have been made to prevent these factories from operating?     

PREVENTIVE EFFORTS AND INTERNATIONAL CONSEQUENCES

“The Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Enforcement and Administration Act” is one positive step in tackling this issue. It has explicitly criminalised human trafficking as well as other related abuses—offences involving a child victim warrants a sentence of at least seven years and a fine of no less than one million naira. In addition, Nigeria’s anti-trafficking agency has launched an app to help people report cases of human trafficking in the country. On the civil society front, some nonprofits are taking the battle against human trafficking into their own hands. The Devatop Centre for Africa Development, for example, has contributed to the fight against human trafficking through the training and education of volunteers. However, despite these efforts, women and children unfortunately continue to become victims of this ruthless industry. 

Internationally, actions to tackle the human trafficking industry in the country would be a stepping stone in repairing Nigeria’s international human rights reputation. Nigeria’s ranking has fallen by five points across Freedom House’s last two “Freedom in the World” reports. Due to the current situation, the US State Department has declared that the Nigerian government is not meeting its minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking. Nigeria has therefore been placed on a watch list. If it fails to improve the state of human trafficking in the country, Nigeria’s classification will automatically be downgraded, and it will be subject to restrictions on foreign assistance.

In other words, failing to act with urgency not only displays a disregard for victims and survivors of the industry and further damages Nigeria’s human rights reputation, but it could also have dire economic consequences.  

Increased attention from bodies such as the UN would help to keep this issue in the spotlight, but ultimately the Nigerian government must take responsibility in tackling this problem. However, the public outcry last year over SARS should serve as a reminder that action to eliminate the trafficking trade must not resort to extrajudicial force.

Susan Atiomo is a writer and student currently studying International Relations and Modern Languages. She is passionate about human rights and raising awareness on issues, which has reflected in much of her work produced on platforms such as the BBC.

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