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Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has raised the alarm over reports that some young Nigerians are considering selling their kidneys to raise money, describing the development as a disturbing sign of the country’s economic hardship.
Atiku, the 2027 presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), expressed the concern in a post on X on Friday, saying the rising cost of living was pushing some young people towards desperate measures.
“I have heard disturbing stories about the extent to which young Nigerians are being driven simply to survive. Perhaps the most horrifying are the growing reports of young people selling parts of their bodies: kidneys in particular, in desperate attempts to raise money,” he said.
The former Vice President blamed the situation on rising costs under the President Bola Tinubu administration, citing increases in food, transport, rent, school fees, medicine and electricity. He said reports that some young Nigerians were being offered as little as ₦1.7m for a kidney should concern the country.
“Young people should be selling dreams, ideas and innovation, not their body organs,” Atiku said, warning that severe economic pressure could make otherwise unthinkable choices appear viable to vulnerable people.
He acknowledged that Nigerian law prohibits commercial organ sales and trafficking but argued that enforcement alone would not address the poverty and desperation that make vulnerable people susceptible to criminal networks.
“No government should celebrate ‘reforms’ while young Nigerians are being reduced to selling parts of themselves to eat, pay rent, settle school fees or survive,” he said, insisting that economic reforms should deliver affordable food, transportation, healthcare and decent jobs.
Atiku’s comments come amid recent reports and claims about organ trafficking in parts of Nigeria, although some of the claims circulating in recent weeks remain unverified.
