The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) has refuted allegations of abduction in connection with a recent rescue operation conducted at the Happy Home Orphanage in Asaba, Delta State, insisting that the exercise was lawful and carried out in line with its mandate.
Director-General of NAPTIP, Binta Adamu Bello made this clarification on Friday during a media briefing at the Agency’s headquarters in Abuja. She said the operation, which took place in June 2025, was part of ongoing investigations into cases of missing children reported from Kano and other states.
According to Bello, the operation followed a petition received in 2022 from the Protection Against Abduction and Missing Children (PATAMOC), which alleged widespread child abductions in Kano State. Investigations by NAPTIP uncovered a trafficking network involving individuals who allegedly sold children to orphanages, including Happy Home Orphanage in Asaba.
The Director-General disclosed that one of the suspects, Mr. Christopher Ogugua Nwoye, proprietor of the orphanage, had earlier admitted to buying children and had returned four minors, three of whom were identified by their biological parents in Gombe State. NAPTIP operatives, accompanied by officers of the Nigeria Police and representatives of affected families, later traced additional children, including one identified as Aisha Buhari, to the orphanage.
Bello emphasized that the rescue was not an abduction but a lawful intervention authorized under the Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Enforcement and Administration Act, 2015.
“As a law enforcement agency of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, NAPTIP does not and will never engage in abduction. What we carried out was a rescue mission consistent with our statutory mandate,” she stated.
The Agency explained that contrary to claims circulating on social media, no arrests were made during the operation because the proprietor of the orphanage was absent at the time, and only his wife was present. The rescued children, she added, were initially placed in the care of the Kano State Ministry of Women Affairs but later moved to a secure NAPTIP facility due to multiple conflicting claims of parentage.
Bello assured that none of the children would be released until investigations, including DNA testing, are completed. She urged all claimants to cooperate with the Agency rather than resort to social media campaigns or blackmail.
She further called on the Delta State Government to conduct a thorough probe into the activities of Happy Home Orphanage, citing concerns over “unwholesome practices” allegedly taking place at the facility.
“NAPTIP remains resolute in concluding investigations expeditiously, prosecuting those found culpable, and ensuring that the rescued children are reunited with their rightful families,” the Director-General affirmed
