Baby Factory In Onitsha Closed Down By Anambra Government, 25 Babies Evacuated

                                                 

Anambra state government yesterday ordered the immediate closure of the Umunna street Onitsha Community Children’s home , Onitsha South local government area Anambra state for engaging in child trafficking. 

Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development, Lady Henrietta Agbata who announced this yesterday said the 25 babies in the home will be evacuated to the Nigeria Red Cross Community Children’s Home

Agbata handed over a list of registered and government recognized children homes (formerly Motherless Babies homes) and compassionate homes to the Commissioner of Police, Director SSS , the Nigerian Army and the Civil Defense among other security agencies to go after all illegal homes in the state.

 The Commissioner flanked by the Director Child Development in the Ministry, Mr Emeka Ejide disowned the purported staff of her ministry arrested by the Nigerian police following a tip off , saying she is not a staff of her ministry. She however said the woman arrested is a Deputy Director in the local government service commission working at Onitsha South local government area.

She said: ‘’Babies are not chicken placed for sales and exchanged for financial benefits. God has exposed them and we were still investigating the home for an alleged trafficking before this one and therefore we have closed the home forthwith while investigations go on. The babies in the home and the stuff they have in their store would be transferred to Red Cross Children home Onitsha until investigations are concluded.  

She further reminded that the Christian Relief Compassionate Home Obosi remained closed even though respite has come their way following the discovery of the missing child in Okija and the parties involved admitting the child is the one missing.

But the Director Child Development , Mr Emeka Ejide confirmed 25 children were in the home but raised alarm that the home will be dealt with should the babies become trafficked.

The Nation reports that two women were arrested in connection of allegedly trafficking two babies aged 3 months and three days on February 26^th,2014.

The state police spokesman, Emeka Chukwuemeka had confirmed their arrest and investigation is on going, “We got information that these people boarded a vehicle from Calabar that dropped them at Onitsha with babies.

“They came to the city with the babies and on their way back, they were without the babies and when the information got to us, we intervened and got them arrested," adding that the suspects had been transferred to the Criminal Investigation Department for further investigation.

The Local government staff admitted that she had paid N150 000 to the facilitator of the babies in Calabar who equally works in the Cross River Ministry of Women Affairs but as a way of protecting the babies.

“I was just trying to protect the children and that was the only reason police arrested me but they should know that I have the right to source babies,” she said.