Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has raised alarm over reports of young Nigerians selling their kidneys to survive the country’s rising cost-of-living crisis, blaming President Bola Tinubu’s economic policies for the situation.
Atiku, the Africa Democratic Congress presidential candidate, said in a post on X on Thursday that he had heard “disturbing stories” of young Nigerians resorting to selling body organs, particularly kidneys, in desperate attempts to raise money.
“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,” Atiku wrote.
He said young Nigerians should be “selling dreams, ideas and innovation, not their body organs,” adding that the trend should “offend the conscience of every Nigerian.”
Atiku claimed some young Nigerians were reportedly being driven to sell their kidneys for as little as ₦1.7 million, although he did not attribute the figure to any specific report or agency.
The figure could not be independently verified.
The former Vice President linked the reported cases to rising living costs under the Tinubu administration, citing food, transportation, rent, school fees, medicine and electricity as increasingly unaffordable for ordinary Nigerians.
“In Tinubu’s Nigeria, almost everything required to live with dignity is becoming more expensive by the day: food, transport, rent, school fees, medicine and electricity.
“Yet young Nigerians are reportedly being driven to sell their kidneys for as little as ₦1.7 million.
“That should break the heart of a nation.
“Young Nigerians should be building careers, starting businesses, raising families and pursuing their dreams, not calculating how much parts of their bodies can fetch simply to stay alive.
“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.”
Atiku acknowledged that Nigeria has laws prohibiting commercial organ sales and organ trafficking but argued that legislation alone cannot address the poverty and desperation that leave vulnerable people exposed to criminal networks.
He called for economic reforms with “a human face”, including affordable food, cheaper transportation, accessible healthcare, decent jobs and “renewed hope for the next generation.”
He concluded with a direct criticism of the President, saying, “Tinubu made Nigeria expensive. I will make Nigeria affordable again.”
Atiku’s comments come amid recent reports and unverified claims of alleged organ trafficking in parts of Nigeria.
The Nigeria Police Force recently paraded four suspects, including two nephrologists, over an alleged organ trafficking operation.
Police said one of the suspects, Emmanuel Ode, allegedly admitted to recruiting victims and disclosed that a 22-year-old man had been lured to a hospital in Abuja in April, where his kidney was allegedly harvested for $1,250, equivalent to about ₦1.7 million.
Investigators said the alleged syndicate targeted vulnerable and financially desperate young people in Nasarawa and neighbouring areas.
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