Operatives of the Force Intelligence Department have smashed a sophisticated child trafficking syndicate operating disguised as a private medical clinic in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.
The breakthrough followed a coordinated undercover sting operation on June 12, 2026, after several distraught mothers lodged formal complaints with law enforcement.
The victims expressed deep suspicions over uniform claims by the facility’s management that their newborns had suddenly died immediately after delivery.
Undercover detectives deployed to infiltrate the facility exposed a harrowing criminal network where live babies were systematically stolen at birth and sold into trafficking pipelines, while the biological mothers were deliberately deceived into believing they had suffered a stillbirth. They were shown the embalmed corpse as evidence of their late baby.
Embalmed corpse in the director’s office
During the tactical raid on the hospital, police detectives discovered a bucket containing an embalmed infant corpse hidden inside the private office of the 66-year-old medical director, Elizabeth Obot.
According to police investigators, Obot—who was operating the entire hospital without any valid medical license—used the same embalmed corpse repeatedly. Hospital staff would present the dead child to different mothers to satisfy their claims that the newborns had passed away during childbirth.
Deepening the scope of the horror, police intelligence revealed that the embalmed corpse was also rented out to external child trafficking cartels, as well as to desperate women who needed a dead infant to stage a deceptive tragedy for their families.
Ringleader admits to N3 million baby sales
When interrogated by detectives, the principal suspect, Elizabeth Obot, denied any criminal intent, framing her illicit business as a humanitarian effort to aid families struggling with infertility.
She openly admitted to running a financial scheme where live children were sold for millions of naira.
“I can charge the person who wants to buy the child N3m,” Obot confessed during her interrogation. “If the person pays, the surrogate mother will get her N2.5m, while the difference is what I use for logistics. Regarding the dead child, it was actually a product of a miscarriage. The father was not around, and when we called him, he gave us permission to dispose of it. He paid for the disposal, but somehow I kept the body. In 2020, a woman came asking for a dead child, and I gave it to her for N10,000.”
Obot explained that the corpse was frequently utilised by women who faked pregnancies under severe pressure from their spouses. When the supposed delivery date arrived, they would claim to have lost the baby at her clinic and present the rented corpse to their husbands to close out the lie.
Another key suspect arrested during the raid, Uffiong Ubong Anthony, made a stunning confession to detectives, revealing that she had been practising as an auxiliary nurse at the illegal hospital for 21 years despite possessing zero professional training or nursing certification.
Force headquarters issues security advisory to pregnant women
The police command has urged members of the public, particularly families who were told they recorded a stillbirth at the facility, to come forward immediately to aid the ongoing forensic investigation and DNA profiling.
Law enforcement authorities cautioned against delivering babies in unverified or secluded clinics. The police strongly advised families to ensure that at least one trusted relative is present inside the delivery ward to monitor the newborn immediately after birth.
Furthermore, the police warned pregnant women to inspect delivery rooms to ensure they are equipped with secure window burglary protectors, noting that trafficking rings often exploit unprotected windows to swiftly pass stolen infants out of delivery rooms undetected.
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