‘BABY FACTORIES’: A NEW PHASE OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING AND HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATION IN NIGERIA (Review Completed - Accepted)
Recent developments in Nigeria has witnessed a different form of human trafficking as a violation of human rights. While the crusade against human trafficking and violation of human rights is gaining ground and yielding positive results in Nigeria, there emerges another form of trafficking and slavery called ‘baby factories’ through the use of deceit, undue-influence, kidnapping and abduction et cetera, by unlawful incarceration of pregnant young/teenage girls or getting them pregnant for the purpose of giving birth to babies for sale or other purposes. This paper discovers that this illicit trade is further aggravating the incidence of trafficking and human rights violation in Nigeria. It is further discovered that the operation of ‘baby factories’ brings along with it the commission of other crimes and further worsen the effects of human trafficking and slavery as violations of inalienable rights. The paper concludes that unless necessary steps are taken immediately to completely abolish the practice of ‘baby factories’ in Nigeria, the practice will be on the increase as it is attracting income to the perpetrators of this illicit act. In the final analysis, we recommend ways of tackling human trafficking in general and specifically, the menace of the emerging ‘baby factories’ in Nigeria, including both legislative and executive interventions.
Keywords: Human Rights, Human Trafficking and Baby Factories