A disturbing new allegation has emerged in Ghana’s fight against human trafficking, with child rights organization Challenging Heights calling for an urgent investigation into a suspected cross-border baby-harvesting and baby-selling syndicate operating between Ghana and Nigeria.
The call comes as the organization revealed that it supported the rescue of 144 victims of human trafficking and modern slavery during the first half of 2026.
According to Challenging Heights, several rescued Nigerian girls have provided consistent accounts of an alleged trafficking network that lures young women to Ghana, forces them into pregnancy, and allegedly sells their babies after birth.
The organization stressed that it has not independently verified the allegations and is not presenting them as established fact, but says the testimonies are credible and consistent enough to warrant an immediate investigation by the security agencies.
One of the most disturbing cases involved a Nigerian teenager who had spent nearly 11 months in Ghana before she was rescued carrying a two-week-old baby. According to Challenging Heights, the young mother alleged that the woman who trafficked her had attempted to sell her baby.
Founder and President of Challenging Heights, James Kofi Annan, said the accounts point to a possible organized trafficking network that must be urgently investigated to determine the full extent of the alleged operation.
The revelations come amid what the organization describes as a worsening human trafficking crisis.
Of the 144 victims rescued this year, 42 children, 19 boys and 23 girls, were rescued from forced labour on Lake Volta, while 102 Nigerian nationals, comprising 60 girls and 42 boys aged between 13 and 29, were rescued from various forms of exploitation across Ghana.
According to Challenging Heights, some victims were forced into fishing on Lake Volta, others into cyber-related criminal activities, while many of the Nigerian girls were trafficked into commercial sexual exploitation, particularly in mining communities such as Obuasi and parts of the Upper East Region.
The organization said many of the victims were lured to Ghana with false promises of jobs in supermarkets, restaurants and shops, only to be exploited upon arrival.
In response to the latest allegations, Challenging Heights is calling on Ghana’s security agencies to launch a coordinated investigation into the suspected baby-harvesting network, rescue any victims who may still be in captivity, and prosecute those responsible under the Human Trafficking Act.
It is also renewing its call for the government to allocate 20 million cedis to strengthen anti-human trafficking efforts through improved prevention, investigations and prosecution.
Ahead of World Day Against Trafficking in Persons on July 30, the organization is urging both Ghanaian and Nigerian authorities to intensify cross-border collaboration to dismantle trafficking networks while encouraging the public to report suspected cases of human trafficking and child exploitation.
Over the past two decades, Challenging Heights says it has supported the rescue of nearly 3,000 children and young people from trafficking and exploitation, providing rehabilitation, reintegration and livelihood support.
The organization says if the latest allegations are confirmed through investigations, they could expose one of the most disturbing forms of human trafficking in the sub-region, involving the exploitation of vulnerable young women and the alleged trafficking of newborn babies.
By Peter Quao Adattor/paqmediagh
