Human Trafficking: NAPTIP Denies Blocking Journalist Soyombo From Accessing Rescued Baby

The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) has refuted claims that it prevented investigative journalist, Fisayo Soyombo, from seeing a baby he rescued from an orphanage suspected of involvement in baby trafficking.

Speaking on The Morning Show on Arise News, NAPTIP’s Lagos Zonal Commander, Comfort Agboko, clarified that the agency did not deny Soyombo access but requested that he formally apply to facilitate the process of visiting the child.

In contrast, Soyombo, appearing on Arise News on November 30 following his recent detention and release by the Nigerian Army, expressed distrust in public institutions.

He accused NAPTIP of failing in its responsibilities and barring him from tracking the baby’s progress after he handed her over to the agency in 2023.

Reminiscing on his ordeal in the Army’s custody, he explained, “The real grouse of the Army is that I did not carry them along. I won’t deny that I have low trust in Nigerian public institutions. A small two-minute diversion: Last year, I did an undercover investigation at an orphanage house selling babies. I bought a newborn baby with ₦2m and took the baby to NAPTIP. I looked after that baby after I handed the baby over to NAPTIP.

“I sent a representative to go there every month. On her birthday, we bought the gift. Same with Christmas. We woke up one day, and NAPTIP shut the door on us. I’m saying it on national TV, the former DG of NAPTIP. She has to answer the question, What happened to that baby? I brought that baby. I just wanted to keep up with the progress of that baby, and one day we just got there, and they said, ‘You can’t see the baby.’

“So, how do you expect someone like me to trust public institutions? Now, I have been vindicated because I spent three days in military detention. Everything I told the highest levels of the Army, the illegal bunkers were telling me when I left.”

Agboko, however, provided detailed explanations: “NAPTIP did not shut him out. What we told him to do was to write to NAPTIP for us to facilitate the process of seeing the baby with the Ministry of Youth and Social Development of Lagos states because they are our partners.

“We operate a closed shelter. So, our shelter doesn’t accommodate babies. It’s for adults. However, we are partnering with the Ministry of Women Affairs in various states of the federation or the Ministry of Youth and Social Development.

“So, in Lagos State, we usually forward these babies to the Ministry of Youth of Social Development, and this particular one was in our shelter for eight months.”

She added that the baby’s first birthday in February 2024 was celebrated in NAPTIP’s shelter before her transfer.

The NAPTIP official further explained that the child turned one year old last February, and “The birthday was celebrated in our shelter, not elsewhere, not in any government shelter, but NAPTIP’s shelter. We celebrated the birthday for her.

“The baby was six months old when she was brought into our shelter on August 11, 2023. And she left our shelter on April 11, 2024. So, we forwarded the baby to the Lagos State Ministry of Youth and Social Development on April 11, 2024. She spent eight months in our shelter.

“So, when we finished our investigation, we sent the case file to Onitsha. We have a command in Onitsha, and they followed up. The suspect, the owner of the orphanage home, was arrested in October 2023 and the case was charged in May 2024 at Federal High Court. As of October 31, 2024, the case was adjoined to February 8, 2025.”

Agboko also confirmed that the orphanage responsible for trafficking was sealed by the Lagos State Government, and the suspect, its owner, was arrested in October 2023.

Regarding the baby’s current welfare, Agboko admitted, “To be candid, I last saw the baby the day she was taken from us by the Lagos State Ministry of Youth and Social Development. We’ve handed the baby over to them until the case is decided in court.

“I’ve not seen the baby. But I usually communicate with the government officials. The baby is being properly taken care of.

“She’s not the only baby we have there. Lagos State Government go for monitoring in these accredited orphanage homes. I’ve not seen the baby.”

Background

In December 2021, investigative journalist Fisayo Soyombo began a covert 19-month investigation into the Arrows of God Orphanage, a well-known Nigerian institution suspected of being involved in illicit baby trafficking.

To gather evidence, Soyombo, posing as an adoptive father with the help of a collaborator, navigated the orphanage’s procedures and ultimately purchased a baby for ₦2 million in July 2023.

Soyombo’s findings, published in an exposé in August 2023, exposed how the orphanage, led by D. C. Ogo, was implicated in the illegal sale of babies, with claims of involvement from law enforcement and judicial authorities.

Following the revelations, authorities, including NAPTIP, took immediate action, rescuing the baby and arresting Ogo in October 2023. The orphanage’s operations in both Lagos and Anambra states were subsequently shut down.

In June 2024, the 83-year-old Ogo was formally charged with human trafficking and appeared before the Federal High Court in Awka. She pleaded not guilty to the charges and was granted bail set at ₦1.3 million.

Although the case was initially set for a hearing in July 2024, it was postponed to February 8, 2025, as confirmed by NAPTIP’s Agboko.