Police in southern Rivers state, Nigeria, claim to have freed 15 children who were being trafficked by a 44-year-old woman posing as a nun.
According to the Rivers State Police Command, on September 3, a raid resulted in the children being taken from the woman's home in the Ikwerre local government area.
Police were informed about the situation, according to spokeswoman Friday Eboka. All of the kids, he claimed, were younger than 10 years old, and some of them had been missing for a while.
Eboka said that they had been kidnapped from several locations in southern Nigeria, including the neighbouring state of Bayelsa.
The woman, who said she was a nun, told reporters Wednesday that she was running a non-profit organization for abandoned kids.
Eboka said the case has been transferred to higher authorities for investigation.
The International Organization for Migration says Nigeria is a source, transit point, and destination country for women and children subjected to trafficking, for reasons including forced labor and forced prostitution.
The problem persists despite the establishment in 2003 of a national agency to combat trafficking in persons.
Police in northwest Sokoto state this week arrested two suspects for allegedly trying to traffic people to Libya.