An Orphanage Home Operated Illegally Has Been Shut Down By Lagos State Govt.

Lagos State government yesterday said it has uncovered an illegal orphanage home and has rescued 25 children from the orphanage.

The illegal orphanage, Saint Stephen Charity Foundation, located in Egbeda area of the state, is allegedly being operated by a suspected trafficker, Mrs. Rosemary Nwachukwu.

Located at No 30/32, Abiodun Adebanbo Street, Egbeda, the home was discovered by a combined team of police and officials of the Office of Youth and Social Department in the state Ministry of Youth and Social Development and the Office of the Public Defender, OPD. Among those rescued were three infants, whose ages range between three and six months and 22 other children.

The rescued children are currently in the custody of the state government while the suspect, Nwachukwu has been arrested and detained at the Alausa Police Station.

The state government was still not clear about how the children got to the orphanage as there were no record on any of the children and no evidence of how they got there.

It was gathered that officials of the Youth and Social Development led by the Director, Child Development, Mrs. Alaba Fadairo and officers from the Office of the Public Defender, OPD, in conjunction with some policemen, stormed the orphanage to rescue the children and arrest the operator.

Confirming the incident, the Director, OPD, Mrs. Omotola Rotimi, said the discovery was consequent upon the investigation carried out by the state government which revealed that Nwachukwu had trafficked about 27 children in the past.

Rotimi added that it was also discovered upon investigation that Nwachukwu had kept the 27 children in a room illegally to raise money for selfish motives.

She, however, said that only 25 of the 27 children were rescued, adding that the whereabouts of the remaining two remained unknown. Also speaking, the Director, Child Development, Fadairo added that it was also discovered that Nwachkwu had been engaging in various anti-child development activities such as illegal adoption, trafficking and other crimes.

Her words: “Investigation also shows that there are no records on each of the children and no evidence of how the children got to her and no form of police or security report as we speak.”

While urging members of the public to be vigilant and report such cases of child trafficking to the media or the government, she said people and organisations that operate unapproved or illegal orphanages would be arrested and prosecuted in accordance with the law.

But the suspect, Nwachukwu claimed the orphanage was purely on charity basis, saying that she has been running the home for the past 18 years, denying engaging in child trafficking.

Meanwhile, a source that did not want his name mentioned, said that the Deputy Governor of Lagos, Mrs. Adejoke Orelope- Adefulire, is interested in the case even as the OPD had vowed to charge the culprit to court after investigation has been concluded.