TheCable

Troops of the Nigerian army rescued 17 girls and two babies during a raid on a suspected baby-making factory in Adamawa state.

Seven suspects were arrested during the raid on their enclave on the Nigerian-Cameroon border on Friday.

They were said to be operating a brothel, human trafficking joint and a baby-making factory.

Mohammed Jibrin-Gambo, the brigade commander of 23 armoured brigade Yola, paraded the suspects on Saturday in Yola, the state capital.

He said that the brigade’s soldiers following an intelligence, raided a criminal hideout outside Kasingila village in Maiha LGA.

He said that the suspects were found less than a kilometre from the Belel district, the final hamlet before entering the Republic of Cameroon.

Abubakar Abdullahi, leader of the suspects, said the girls, aged between 19 and 21, were recruited from Adamawa, Gombe and Borno states.

Abdullahi said they were camped at the location he used as a dance club, brothel and baby factory.

The girls were said to have been in the camp for about three years without the knowledge of their families.

Some of the victims said they were accommodated in a single room and slept on mats.  They also claimed that the money realized was held back by their captors so that they cannot escape.

The girls were also used as entertainment during wedding occasions and naming ceremonies within Nigeria and Cameroon, mostly among criminal gangs operating in the area.