The Director-General of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), Dr. Binta Bello has called on individuals claiming parentage of eight children recently rescued from a cartel of human traffickers in Asaba, Delta State capital to present themselves for investigation rather than resorting to social media campaigns and misinformation.
Speaking during a press briefing in Abuja on Friday, Bello who addressed the growing controversy surrounding a June 2025 operation conducted in Asaba, Delta State, where NAPTIP operatives rescued eight children allegedly trafficked from the northern part of the country, said: “This briefing is necessary to clarify several misleading narratives circulating online and in some media spaces, especially on social media.
“We owe it to the public and the government to set the record straight, especially in cases involving the welfare and safety of children.”
She explained that the rescue followed a petition submitted in December 2022 by Protection Against Abduction and Missing Children (PATAMOC), which triggered investigations by NAPTIP’s Kano Zonal Command. These investigations eventually led to the arrest of Hauwa Abubakar in Gombe State, who confessed to trafficking children and selling at least 21 of them to an individual identified as Nkechi Odlyne.
Bello said further investigations revealed that Odlyne had resold seven of these children to the proprietor of Happy Home Orphanage in Asaba, Mr. Christopher Nwoye for N450,000 each.
She explained that: “Upon his arrest, Christopher Nwoye admitted his role in the matter and returned the four children,” adding that: “He, along with Hauwa Abubakar and Nkechi Odlyne, is currently facing prosecution in Gombe State High Court.”
Bello noted that while three of the children were reunited with their biological parents from Gombe, a fourth child identified by a Kano-based mother as her missing daughter, Aisha Buhari had already been returned to the orphanage prior to identification.
The DG confirmed that the case is already at the Kano State Commission of Inquiry on Missing Children, and that NAPTIP had dispatched a joint team from its Abuja headquarters and Kano Zonal Command to rescue Aisha and conduct further assessments at the orphanage in Delta.
She noted that: “This was a lawful rescue operation conducted with full support from the Delta State Police Command. It was not an abduction as has been falsely claimed by some online commentators.”
She said the team, accompanied by members of PATAMOC and armed police officers, visited Happy Home Orphanage on June 15, 2025. Although the proprietor was absent, his wife was present, and over 70 children were profiled during the visit. Eight were identified based on photographs provided by the PATAMOC chairman.
She decried that despite the transparency of the process, Nwoye has since refused to make himself available for further questioning, instead launching an online smear campaign against NAPTIP and mobilizing women to lay conflicting claims to the rescued children.
Bello said: “We have made several attempts to reach Mr. Nwoye for questioning, both directly and through his lawyers. Rather than respond, he has chosen to attack the integrity of the agency.
“Let it be clear we are not against anyone making a claim over the children, but they must subject themselves to lawful investigation.”
She revealed that in the light of multiple claims from women in both Kano and Delta states, NAPTIP relocated the children from a Kano State shelter to a secure agency-run facility to ensure their protection during the investigation.
She insisted that: “We will not release any child to any claimant until investigations, including DNA tests, are fully concluded.”
The DG also called on the Delta State Government to open an independent investigation into the activities of Happy Home Orphanage, citing concerns about “unwholesome practices” reported at the facility.
“We echo the concerns already raised by the Delta State Commissioner for Women Affairs. The state must take decisive steps to unravel what is going on in that orphanage,” she added.
She however reiterated NAPTIP’s commitment to due process, emphasizing that agency’s legal mandate under the Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Enforcement and Administration Act, 2015, empowers it to carry out rescues, investigate trafficking networks, and prosecute offenders.
She said: “NAPTIP is a law-abiding agency. However, we will not spare anyone found culpable in this matter,” adding that: “Those genuinely laying claim to the children should engage with us lawfully, not through blackmail or online theatrics.”
Bello therefore assured the public of the agency’s resolve to conclude the investigation swiftly, prosecute offenders, and ensure that the rescued children are safely reunited with their lawful families.
She promised that: “We remain focused on the children’s welfare and will continue to act in their best interests. The law will take its full course.”
