x
GATWICK, UK – A woman was arrested at Gatwick Airport after arriving from Nigeria with a baby girl, prompting serious concerns over child trafficking. The woman, referred to in court documents as Susan, had been living in West Yorkshire with her husband and children since June 2023.
Before leaving for Nigeria in June 2024, Susan falsely claimed to her GP that she was pregnant. Despite medical scans and tests revealing no pregnancy – instead showing a potentially cancerous tumour – she insisted her pregnancies were undetectable and said her babies were always “hidden.”
She traveled to Nigeria and contacted a UK hospital claiming to have given birth. When she returned to the UK with the baby, later referred to as Eleanor, police arrested her on suspicion of child trafficking. Although she was bailed and there is currently no active criminal investigation, a Family Court case was launched to determine the baby’s origin.
DNA tests confirmed neither Susan nor her husband were biologically related to the child. Despite demanding a second test and then claiming the baby was born via IVF using donor gametes, both tests showed the same result.
Susan submitted documents from Nigerian clinics to support her claims, but court-appointed expert social worker Henrietta Coker, with nearly 30 years of experience, traveled to Nigeria to investigate. Her findings were damning:
The IVF clinic had no records of Susan receiving treatment and confirmed the letter was forged.
The “birth clinic” was a rundown three-bedroom flat with no proper medical staff.
The doctor who signed Susan’s birth letter confirmed that someone gave birth there – but it wasn’t Susan.
He also hinted that the child may have been purchased, a practice associated with Nigeria’s underground network of illegal baby factories. According to Ms. Coker, these establishments often house kidnapped girls who are raped and forced to give birth repeatedly. Many victims die during childbirth or are murdered.
While it’s unclear where Eleanor came from, the possibility that she was born in one of these facilities remains. Susan’s phone revealed disturbing messages, including a contact saved as “Mum oft [sic] Lagos Baby.”
In March 2025, the Leeds Family Court heard evidence from multiple witnesses, including Susan and her husband. Despite her continued claims, the court ruled that Eleanor was not her biological or legal child. The child remains in foster care, and her true parentage is still unknown.
