Share!
Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has expressed concern over reports that some Nigerian youths are allegedly resorting to selling their kidneys as a means of coping with economic hardship.
Atiku, the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), spoke in a post on X on Thursday, describing the reports as disturbing and a reflection of growing desperation among young people.
He said Nigerian youths should be channeling their talents and ideas towards building successful futures rather than being driven by poverty to consider selling parts of their bodies.
“I have heard disturbing stories about the extent to which young Nigerians are being driven simply to survive,” Atiku said.
The former vice-president said reports of young people allegedly selling body organs, particularly kidneys, were among the most worrying developments.
According to him, young Nigerians should be “selling dreams, ideas and innovation, not their body organs.”
Atiku cited reports suggesting that some young people were being offered about N1.7 million for a kidney. However, the figure has not been independently verified.
He blamed the development on the rising cost of living, accusing the administration of President Bola Tinubu of making basic necessities increasingly unaffordable for many Nigerians.
He listed food, transportation, rent, school fees, medicines and electricity as some of the major expenses placing pressure on households.
“When young Nigerians begin to see their kidneys as emergency savings, we are no longer talking about ordinary economic hardship. We are talking about desperation at its most frightening,” he said.
Atiku acknowledged that commercial organ sales and organ trafficking are prohibited under Nigerian law but argued that legislation alone may not address the problem if poverty continues to expose vulnerable people to exploitation by criminal networks.
He called for policies aimed at reducing the cost of living, creating jobs and improving access to affordable food, transportation and healthcare.
The former vice-president also urged the government to restore hope among young Nigerians through economic reforms that would improve living conditions.
His comments come amid ongoing investigations into alleged organ-trafficking activities involving financially vulnerable individuals.
Reports said the Nigeria Police Force recently paraded four suspects, including two medical specialists, in connection with an alleged organ-trafficking syndicate.
Investigators alleged that one of the suspects recruited victims, while a 22-year-old man was reportedly lured to a hospital in Abuja, where his kidney was allegedly removed.
Police said the suspected network targeted financially vulnerable young people in Nasarawa State and neighbouring areas.
Atiku ended his statement with a criticism of the Tinubu administration, saying the current economic situation had made life increasingly difficult for Nigerians.
The claims regarding the scale of kidney sales among Nigerian youths, however, remain subject to independent verification and investigation by relevant authorities.
No related posts.
