Following allegations of illegal adoption and child trafficking, the Anambra State Government raided and permanently closed the Arrows of God Community Children’s Home in the state’s Oyi Local Government Area.
Ify Obinabo, the State Commissioner for Women and Social Welfare, confirmed the orphanage’s closure following a documentary investigation by Fisayo Soyombo of the Foundation for Investigative Journalism.
Obinabo attacked the orphanage and locked it off on Wednesday, accompanied by security personnel.
The owner and staff members of the orphanage were reported to have left and are still at large, while some children, numbering up to 20, including a newborn baby, were retrieved from the orphanage home.
The orphanage has ten boys, nine girls, and a newborn infant, all of whom are between the ages of one and seventeen.
The commissioner, who denied her Ministry’s involvement in the illegal child adoption drama, also stated that the founder of the orphanage home, Rev. D.C. Ogo, was summoned to her office in Awka for questioning but never showed up.
Obinabo said, “The ministry is not aware of any adoption with the Arrow of God Orphanage Home, and the adoption process never went through the ministry.
“There are irregularities in the said adoption, which include the absence of three signatories, such as that of the Commissioner, the Head of Children’s Unit and that of the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry.
“Since I assumed office, all application for court order of adoption or care goes through the designated Children, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Magistrate Court in Awka as against the Nnewi Court order presented in the documentary. This is so because the fundamental goal is to preserve the best interest of the child.”
The Commissioner also warned other orphanage home operators in Anambra State who are engaging in illegal adoption to stop because the state government is taking all necessary steps to crack down on operators who do not follow the state’s prescribed and standard operational norms and procedures.
Obinabo also warned that many persons are disguising and displaying themselves as Ministry officials to assist in the unlawful adoption or sale of children.
She also recommended couples seeking to adopt children in the state to proceed with caution and to carefully follow the standard procedure, as there is no shortcut to child adoption in the state, and ignorance is not an excuse.
