Last summer, dem arrest one woman for Gatwick Airport afta she arrive from Nigeria wit ove very young baby girl.
Di woman bin dey live for West Yorkshire wit her husband and children, and bifor she comot UK for Africa and tell her GP say she get belle.
No be true.
Wen di woman return about one month later wit di baby, dem arrest on suspicion of trafficking.
Di case, di second wey di BBC don follow through di Family Court for recent months, reveal wetin experts say na news trend of babies wey dem dey bring into di UK unlawfully – from some so-called “baby factories” for Nigeria.
‘My babies dey always hide’
Di woman, wey we go call Susan, na Nigerian, but e don dey live for England since June 2023, wit her husband and children.
Susan, a careworker wey leave Britain for Africa, claim say she get belle. But scans and blood tests show say no be true. Instead, dem reveal say Susan get tumour, wey doctors fear say e fit dey cancerous. But she refuse treatment.
Susan insist say her previous pregnancies no dey dey visible for scans, telling her employer, “my babies dey always hide”. She also claim she don get belle for up to 30 months wit her oda children.
She travel to Nigeria for early June 2024, as she tok say she wan born her baby for dia, and den contact her local hospital in Britain, to say she don born her baby.
Doctors dey concerned and call children services.
Wen she arrive back for UK wit di baby girl – wey she dey call Eleanor – Sussex police stop and arrest Susan.
Dem don bail her and di lead police force confam say no active investigation at di moment.
Afta her arrest, Susan, her husband, and Eleanor, do DNA tests. Dem don carry Eleanor go foster carers.
“Wen di results show say I be Eleanor mama, I wan make dem return her to me immediately,” Susan tok.
But di test show say di baby no get genetic link wit Susan or her husband. Susan demand second test – na di same result, and den she change her story.
She claim say she go for IVF treatment bifor she move to Britain in 2023 wit donor egg and sperm, she tok, and na why di DNA tests show negative.
Susan provide one letter from one Nigerian hospital, wey one medical director sign, say she born her baby dia, as well as one document from anoda clinic about di IVF treatment to back up her claim.
She also provide fotos and videos wey show her for Nigerian hospital labour suite. Her face no dey visible for di foto and one show one naked woman wit placenta between her legs, wit umbilical cord wey still dey attached to am.
Pesin don born – No be Susan
Di Family Court for Leeds send Henrietta Coker make she investigate.
Ms Coker, dey provide expert reports to family courts for cases like dis, she get nearly 30 years experience as social worker. She train for Britain, and work for front-line child protection for London, bifor she move to Africa.
Ms Coker visit di medical centre wia Susan claim she get IVF. No record of Susan treatment dia – staff tell her say dem forge di letter.
She den visit di place Susan tok say she born pikin. Na shabby, three bedroom flat, wit “stained” walls and “dirty” carpets.
Ms Coker tok say she meet “three young teenage girls wey sit for di reception room wit nurse uniforms”.
She ask make she follow di matron tok and “dem take am into di kitchen wia one teenage girl dey chop rice”.
Ms Coker den track down di doctor wey write di letter, wia Susan tok say she born di pikin for dia hospital. He say, “Yes, pesin don born pikin”.
Ms Coker show am foto of Susan, but di doctor tok say no be her.
“Impersonating pipo dey common for dis part of di world,” e tell Ms Coker, say Susan fit don “buy di pikin”.
Di practice of “baby farming” dey popular for West Africa, Ms Coker later tell di court. At least Nigerian authorities don close down 200 illegal “baby factories” for di last five years, she tok.
Some na young girls wey dem kidnap, rape, and force dem make dem born pikin repeatedly.
“Sometimes dem dey release dia girls,” Ms Coker tok, “oda times dem dey die during childbirth, or wen dem murder and bury dem for di grounds of di organisation.”
E no dey clear wia baby Eleanor come from – though di doctor tell Ms Coker say e believe say dem give am up voluntarily.
Ms Coker no fit establish who Eleanor real parents be.
She give evidence to di Family Court for Leeds for March dis year, along wit Susan, her husband, her employer and one senior obstetrician.
At earlier hearing di judge ask for Susan phone make dem examine am. Investigators tok say dem find messages wey Susan send to someone to save her address book as “Mum oft [sic] Lagos Baby”.
About four weeks bifor di alleged date of birth Susan write one text message say:
“Good afternoon ma, I neva see di hospital items”
Di same day, Mum Oft Lagos Baby respond:
“Delivery drug na 3.4 m
“Hospital bill na 170k.”
Assuming dis sums to Nigerian Naira, e go be £1,700 and £85 respectively, di Family Court judge, Recorder William Tyler KC tok.
Di local authority point say dem don set di messages to “automatic self-destruct mode”
Susan try to explain di messages in court. Di Recorder tok say her explanation dey “difficult to follow and impossible to accept”.
Recorder Tyler, wey dey sit as Deputy Judge of di High Court, tok say Susan “stage one scene” wia she falsely claim say she born Eleanor for Nigeria.
Susan tok say and her husband put forward “fundamental lie” to explain how Eleanor dey dia care and dem try to mislead authorities wit false documents.
Dem go both cause di little girl “significant emotional and psychological harm”, e tok.
In early July, di BBC attend di final hearing for Eleanor case.
Dem want make dem return Eleanor to dem. Dia barristers tok say dia own children dey thriving – dem wan offer her di same love and care.
Susan husband see Eleanor as “fundamental part of dia family unit”.
Vikki Horspool, wey dey represent di child guardian, social worker from di Independent Children and Family Child Advisory Service tok say. She tok say di couple “continued to dey dishonest” about Eleanor real start in life and how she come to be in dia care.
The judge order say make dem place baby Eleanor for adoption, and also make “declaration of non parentage”. E tok say im dey aware of di “pain” dis go cause Susan and her husband.
Di barrister for di local authority tell di court say di baby dey “very settled” wit her foster carer, taking part in activities in her community and getting medical treatment.
Wen dem adopt Eleanor she go get new identity and British nationality – but she fit no know who are real parents be.
Eleanor story dey similar to di case of “Lucy” –wey dem bring into Manchester Airport in 2023, by one man wey claim to be her papa.
‘Money exchange for children’
Ms Coker believe say likely dem born bring more children unlawfully to di UK from West Africa. She tell di BBC say she don work on around one dozen similar cases since di pandemic. In her experience, baby trafficking na commonplace.
“Dem dey exchange children for money on a large scale” she tok – not just in Africa but “across di global south”.
Since 2021 di UK goment don restrict adoptions from Nigeria, partly becos of “evidence of organised child trafficking” within di kontri.
British authorities dey aware of di problem for many years, and dem get several cases in di Family Courts ova di last 20 years.
Two hearings in 2011 and 2012 involve Nigerian couples wey get “fertility treatment ” and e lead to “miracle baby”.
Dis “treatments” continue, as recently expose by investigative journalists for BBC Africa Eye.
In 2013, di UK High Commission in Lagos require DNA tests for certain circumstances bifor dem fit take newborn babies from Nigeria to Britain.
However dem don stop dis process since 2018, dem tell officials say DNA testing dey unlawful.
Dem tok say dem go make pipo undergo DNA testing wen dem dey asking for visa or passport in support of application relating to immigration status.
Ms Coker said some clinics offer “packages” wey include registering di baby birth. E dey cost anywia between £2,000 and £8,000, excluding any airfare, she tok.
She think more pipo in Britain suppose dey aware of dis activity.
E dey hard to tackle, she tok – perhaps DNA testing of newborn babies and purported parents go fit help.
But she no dey sure di British goment fit do much to stop am, she to, “di issues start in kontri wia dem born di children”.
Patricia Durr, CEO of di anti-trafficking charity ECPAT tok say cases like dis dey particularly “heinous” becos dem dey deny di pikin im right to know im own identity.
She tok: “Every effort must be made to prevent dis egregious crimes occurring.”
One goment tok-tok pesin say: “Falsely claiming to be di parent of one child to facilitate entry to di UK dey illegal. Pipo wey dey do am go face full force of di law.
“Border Force dey committed to protecting individuals wey cross di border and wia concerns dey raised, officers go take action to safeguard individuals wey dey at risk.”
Di BBC contact di Nigerian High Commission for comment but dem norespond.
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