BY  Anayo Okoli
Umuahia— ABIA State Police Command has rescued 32 pregnant teenage girls from a private hospital in Abia State, Cross Foundation Clinic, and arrested its proprietor, Dr. Hyacinth Orikara, for allegedly trafficking in human beings.

The pregnant girls were said to have been holed up in the hospital pending their delivery, after which they would be paid off by Dr. Orikara, who retains the babies for sale.

State Police Commissio-ner, Mr. Bala Hassan, said the raid on the hospital was based on a tip-off that the clinic served as a haven for young girls with unwanted pregnancies.

Hassan, who paraded the medical doctor and the pregnant girls, said the girls were allegedly paid according to the sex of their babies.
According to him, the young mother is paid N25,000 for female babies, while male babies atttract N30,000.

The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons, NAPTIP, said the children were usually sold for between N300,000 and N1 million.

The Commissioner accused the doctor of selling the babies at very high prices to people, including ritualists.
He warned that the Police in the state were ready to fight such criminal activities.

Hassan said the medical doctor and inmates would be charged to court for child trafficking, child labour and abuse as soon as investigations were concluded.

However, Dr. Orikara denied operating illegal baby, saying he was running a foundation for teenagers with unwanted pregnancies who do not have anybody to help them at the point of their need.

He claimed that he was running the place in consultation with the welfare department of the state government, whch usually approve before any of the children was put up for adoption.

According to him, the parents and guardians of the inmates are aware of the where bout of their children and wards and that the foundation is being sustained by public spirited individuals.

One of the girls, who gave her name as Ifeoma Orji, 18, a student of Girls High School, Umuahia, disclosed that she was introduced to the clinic by one of her friends and that she had stayed there for only two weeks.

But another girl, who gave her name simply as Chikwendu, admitted that she was given only N25,000 after delivering and alleged that her baby was sold immediately.