Five pregnant girls have been rescued following a raid of a baby factory by security operatives at Umunya in Oyi Local Government Area of Anambra State.
The rescue efforts followed a collaboration of the Anambra State Ministry of Health and security agencies in the South-Eastern state.
Briefing journalists on Wednesday, the Commissioner for Health, Dr. Afam Obidike said it was observed that the baby factory was functioning as a hospital but it was a base for child trafficking.
The facility is identified as ‘Mother and Child Hospital and Maternity located on a road along the Tansian University, Umunya.
He identified the facility as ‘Mother and Child Hospital and Maternity located on a road along the Tansian University, Umunya.
“We found that some hospitals that are not registered are operating in the state. We have created data that will capture the hospitals in the state so that people will be able to have quality, good healthcare,” he said.
“Unfortunately, in one of the hospitals that we came for inspection, we found out that in our data system, they were not registered. We came here to verify and look at what is happening,” he said.
Five pregnant girls ranging from 14 to 21 years were rescued by security operatives during a raid on the facility on February 7, 2024.
‘Ran Away’
He said the facility was not registered with the Anambra State Government, adding that the government that seven nurses on duty ran away.
The commissioner put the ages of the victims as 14 to 21 years, stressing that Governor Charles Soludo’s administration is determined to tackle the menace.
“Unfortunately, the hospital is not registered and activities are suspected to be very fraudulent. So we decided to just see the senior doctor in the hospital and all the seven nurses.
“They locked us outside. Before they opened the gate, they followed the back and ran away. Seven to eight of them ran away. We saw little girls here that are pregnant, some of them ranging from 14, 15, 16 and 21 years,” the commissioner said.