Edo State Government has shut down an Orphanage Home and arrested its operator over an alleged adoption scam in the State.

The sealed Orhanage Home identified as Uwadia Children Home is located in Afuze, the administrative headquarters of Owan East Local Government Area. It is operated by Mrs Grace Efe Uwadia.

edocelebs reports that the State Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development, Eugenia Abdallah disclosed this during a visit to the Home.

Abdallah said the facility was shut down following complaints of alleged irregularities in an adoption process by one Mr Monday Akpaduma.

She added that a staff member of the Social Welfare Department in Owan East Local Government Council, Mr Vincent Ogbodo is declared wanted in connection with the incident.

She alleged that the Social Welfare Department staff was the source of the documents for the transaction.

She said the documents suggested a possible conspiracy with the illegal orphanage in carrying out the alleged illicit activities.

The Commissioner, who stated that the proprietress of the facility has been handed over to the Aideyan Police Station in Benin City for further investigation and prosecution, added that the Local Government staff could not be arrested at the time of the operation, as he was not present in the office.

She, however, vowed that efforts are ongoing to apprehend the staff, threatening that all individuals connected to the illegal operation would be brought to justice.

She explained that the complaint alleged that he paid the sum of N250,000 as an initial processing fee for the adoption of a child in the orphanage home.

According to her, “the complaint further said that after the N250,000, he was subsequently asked to pay an additional N1 million before the child could be released to him.

“After prolonged delays, he was allegedly informed that the adoption fee had been increased to N2 million by the ministry, a claim that raised suspicion and prompted him to report directly to the ministry.”

“Internal investigation was immediately launched, which revealed that all documents presented by Mr Akpaduma were fraudulent and did not originate from the ministry, despite being issued on an old ministry letterhead”, she said.

She said the State Government has evacuated the children from the orphanage to a safe location, adding that some of them are currently receiving medical treatment.

While stressing that the Edo State Government has zero tolerance for exploitation, fraud, or any form of illegal practice involving vulnerable children, she, however, reiterated that the ministry does not charge arbitrary or inflated fees for adoption.

The said investigations into the matter are ongoing, and urged members of the public to always verify information directly with the ministry regarding adoption of a child.

She also urged the public to always report any suspicious activity to the ministry and assured that the affected children are now in safe custody and receiving appropriate care.