Abuja, NIGERIA
Nigerian police said Monday they had rescued 19
expectant mothers from a string of locations in Lagos where pregnant women were
being forced to give birth to children for sale.
"We
got reports based on intelligence information about activities of individuals
who were keeping pregnant women and babies to sell them after delivery,"
Lagos police spokesman Bala Elkana told AFP.
"After
investigations, we were able to rescue 19 pregnant ladies and four
babies," he said, adding that the freed were aged between 15 and 28.
"Some
of them were misled, they were told they were brought to Lagos to find a job
and found themselves trapped."
The
raids carried out on September 19 targeted three houses and a hotel in the
outskirts of Nigeria's biggest city.
"We've
got two suspects in custody and one is still on the run," Elkana said.
He
said that baby girls were being sold for 300 000 naira ($830) while boys
fetched 500 000 naira.
"It
is still unclear for which purpose or to whom they were sold," Elkana
said.
Reports
of police raids on illegal maternity units - dubbed "baby factories" -
have been relatively common in Nigeria, especially in southeastern regions.
The
oil-rich country boasts one of Africa's largest economies, but it has more
people living in extreme poverty than any other nation in the world. - AFP
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