On the morning of 19 November 2025, a frantic call reached the Advocacy desk of CSAAE, which I manage as the advocacy officer. A group of university students in Eziobodo, a community that hosts parts of the Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO), reported that a newborn baby, barely 18 hours old, was on the brink of being trafficked. It was a distress signal that would unravel one of the most disturbing trends quietly spreading across Owerri West LGA of Imo State and Southeast in general: The targeted trafficking of newborns delivered by young, vulnerable girls. Precious, a 20-year-old 200-level student, left her home in Mbaise determined to make her family proud. But her dreams began to crumble when she discovered she was pregnant. Like many girls in similar situations, she hid the pregnancy out of fear. A medical abnormality known as cryptic pregnancy meant she still saw her period and showed few physical signs until she was already five months in. When she final...