Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has raised concern over reports that some young Nigerians are allegedly selling their kidneys to raise money amid the country’s worsening cost-of-living crisis.
Atiku expressed the concern in a post on X on Friday, saying the economic situation was pushing some young Nigerians towards desperate measures simply to survive.
He described reports of young people selling body organs, particularly kidneys, as among the most disturbing consequences of the economic hardship.
“I have heard disturbing stories about the extent to which young Nigerians are being driven simply to survive. Perhaps the most horrifying are the growing reports of young people selling parts of their bodies: kidneys in particular, in desperate attempts to raise money,” he said.
According to Atiku, young Nigerians should be using their creativity and talents to build their futures rather than considering the sale of body organs as a means of survival.
“Young people should be selling dreams, ideas and innovation, not their body organs,” he said.
The 2027 presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress attributed the situation to the severity of the economic challenges confronting Nigerians, arguing that unbearable living costs could push vulnerable people towards dangerous decisions.
“When the cost-of-living crisis becomes unbearable, desperation begins to make the unthinkable appear like an option,” he said.
Atiku blames economic policies for rising hardship
Atiku criticised the economic policies of President Bola Tinubu’s administration, saying the prices of basic goods and services had continued to rise.
“In Tinubu’s Nigeria, almost everything required to live with dignity is becoming more expensive by the day: food, transport, rent, school fees, medicine and electricity,” he said.
He further alleged that some young Nigerians were reportedly being offered as little as N1.7 million for their kidneys, describing such reports as a troubling reflection of the hardship in the country.
“That should break the heart of a nation,” Atiku said.
He said young Nigerians should instead be building careers, establishing businesses, raising families and pursuing their ambitions.
“When young Nigerians begin to see their kidneys as emergency savings, we are no longer talking about ordinary economic hardship. We are talking about desperation at its most frightening,” he said.
Laws alone cannot address organ trafficking, Atiku says
Atiku acknowledged that Nigeria has laws prohibiting the commercial sale of human organs and organ trafficking.
However, he argued that legislation alone would not solve the poverty and desperation that could make vulnerable people susceptible to criminal networks.
“Nigeria already has laws prohibiting commercial organ sales and organ trafficking. But laws alone cannot cure the poverty and desperation that make vulnerable young people easy prey for criminal networks,” he said.
The former vice president also criticised the Federal Government for pursuing economic reforms without, in his view, giving sufficient attention to their impact on ordinary Nigerians.
“No government should celebrate ‘reforms’ while young Nigerians are being reduced to selling parts of themselves to eat, pay rent, settle school fees or survive,” he said.
He called for economic policies that would improve access to affordable food, transportation, healthcare and decent employment.
“Economic reform must have a human face. It must mean affordable food, cheaper transportation, accessible healthcare, decent jobs and renewed hope for the next generation,” Atiku said.
“Our young people should be selling their ideas, talents and innovation to the world and not their kidneys for ₦1.7 million just to survive at home.”
“This is the human cost of Nigeria’s cost-of-living crisis,” he added.
Atiku’s comments come amid recent reports and unverified claims concerning alleged organ trafficking in parts of Nigeria.
