UPDATE: NINE PREGNANT WOMEN RESCUED FROM BABY FACTORY IN ABUJA

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The capital of the country, Abuja, has seen the rescue of nine pregnant women from a baby factory.

The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) announced on Thursday that its officials had rescued the victims.

According to a statement from NAPTIP spokesperson Vincent Adekoye, the baby factory is located on one of the expansive estates in the Federal Capital Territory’s Ushafa neighbourhood.

Adekoye claims that the institution was raided after a concerned individual provided a tip.

“The victims were locked up in a rented apartment inside the estate by a yet-to-be-identified suspected trafficking agent after recruiting them through an online platform,” the statement read.

In the meantime, a well-known Abuja bishop who reportedly raped a member’s daughter in March 2023 was found guilty and sentenced by NAPTIP.

He claimed that the rapist bishop was given a 20-year prison sentence without the possibility of a fine by a Federal High Court in Gudu, which was presided over by Justice Adebiyi Osolo.

Kenneth Duke, a 52-year-old bishop, is credited with founding a well-known church on the Dantata Zuba Motorway.

In order for his wife to register the 12-year-old victim in a skills-acquisition program, he raped her on March 6, one day after she had arrived at his house.

“The 52-year-old convict, an indigene of Cross River State, was dragged to Court by NAPTIP for raping a 12-year-old girl (name withheld), the daughter of his church member who was entrusted under the care of his family.

“In case no: CR/702/2023 Federal Republic of Nigeria Vs Bishop Kenneth Duke, the defendant was arraigned before Court 16 on 02/11/2023 on a two-count charge for the offence of rape and intentionally causing emotional and psychological abuse on the victim,” Adekoya stated.

Adekoya said NAPTIP Director-General, Binta Adamu-Bello, lauded the judiciary for the landmark judgement.