Nigerian police have broken up what they call a “baby factory” in the southern Nigerian city of Aba. The clinic, known as The Cross Foundation, is accused of holding pregnant girls hostage and selling their newborn babies into the sex trade and human trafficking markets.

The clinic’s owners, Dr. Hyacinth Orikara, is accused of forcing women to sell their babies to him for $190, depending on the gender of the child. He is denying the allegations. The girls, many of whom are aged between 15 and 17, confirmed details to authorities.

“We rescued 32 pregnant girls and arrested the proprietor who is undergoing interrogation over allegations that he normally sells the babies to people who may use them for rituals or other purposes,”

Police commissioner Bala Hassan said.

The doctor is claiming that the clinic cared for teens with unwanted pregnancies. The women were sent to a haven for victims of human trafficking. “Baby farms” are believed to be common in Western Africa. The newborns are sold to the highest bidder, with children ending up as factory workers or sex slaves.

After fraud and drug trafficking, human trafficking is believed to be the third most common crime in Nigeria. -Source