Professor Aliyu Abdu, a nephrologist and academic at Bayero University, Kano (BUK), and consultant at Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH), has revealed that between 2015 and 2020, no fewer than 651 kidneys were illegally harvested and transplanted in Nigeria, with an estimated global value of over $41 billion.
Professor Abdu disclosed this shocking figure at a seminar on National Organ and Tissue Transplantation Standards held in Abuja, stressing that the development reflects Nigeria’s growing role in the broader international organ trade, where about 10,000 kidneys are sold on the black market annually.
He blamed the surge in illegal organ harvesting on weak regulatory enforcement, despite the provisions of the National Health Act of 2014, which criminalises the commercial sale of human organs and mandates informed donor consent.
“Most of the people who fall victim to this are poor and desperate. They’re lured by money without understanding the serious health risks involved,” Abdu explained, noting that many donors are left without medical support after surgery, suffering long-term health complications and emotional trauma.
According to him, the underground kidney trade in Nigeria is run by well-organized criminal networks, involving recruiters, medical professionals, drivers, travel agents, and insurers working together to facilitate illegal transplants.
He further attributed the situation to the lack of cadaveric (deceased donor) kidney donations and the absence of functioning organ banks in the country, which leaves patients in need of transplants vulnerable to illegal alternatives.