Edo State government on Thursday said it has uncovered an alleged adoption scam at an illegal orphanage identified as Uwadia Children Home, operating in Afuze, Owan East Local Government Area of the State.

New Telegraph gathered that the development also led to the arrest of the proprietress of the orphanage, an elderly woman named Mrs Grace Efe Uwadia.

According to the report, she has been handed over to the police in Benin City for further investigation and prosecution.

Confirming the incident, the Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development, Euginia Abdallah, said the ministry was already meeting to extend the search for such facilities in other parts of the state.

She revealed that the incident was triggered by a formal complaint from a victim identified as Mr Monday Akpaduma, who had approached the ministry after encountering irregularities in an adoption process.

The man alleged that he initially applied to adopt a child through the orphanage and paid a sum of ₦250,000 as a processing fee. He was said to have claimed that he was subsequently asked to pay an additional ₦1 million before the child could be released to him.

After prolonged delays, he was allegedly informed that the adoption fee had been increased to ₦2 million by the ministry, a claim that raised his suspicion and prompted him to report directly to the ministry.

It was gathered that “an internal investigation was immediately launched, which revealed that all documents presented by Mr Akpaduma are fraudulent and did not originate from the ministry, despite being issued on an old ministry letterhead” a senior staff member of the ministry said.

She said further allegations by Mr Akpadume pointed to a staff member of the Social Welfare Department in Owan East Local Government Council as the source of the documents, suggesting possible collusion with the illegal orphanage in carrying out the alleged illicit activities.

The staff, however, disclosed that the Local Government staff could not be arrested at the time of the operation, as he was not present in the office.

“He may have probably heard of the visit from the ministry and left his seat, so he was not around when the staff of the ministry visited the council”, but assured that efforts were ongoing to apprehend him and that all individuals connected to the illegal operation would be brought to justice.