Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has raised alarm over what he described as a growing trend of young Nigerians selling their kidneys to survive amid the country’s cost-of-living crisis, blaming President Bola Tinubu’s economic policies for the development.
The Africa Democratic Congress presidential candidate, in a post on X on Thursday, said 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 ought to be “selling dreams, ideas and innovation, not their body organs,” adding that the trend should “offend the conscience of every Nigerian.”
Atiku claimed that young Nigerians were reportedly being driven to sell their kidneys for as little as ₦1.7m, a figure he did not attribute to any specific report or agency.
Punch could not independently verify the figure as of the time of this report.
The former Vice President linked the trend to the rising cost of living under the Tinubu administration, listing food, transport, rent, school fees, medicine and electricity as items that have become increasingly unaffordable for ordinary Nigerians.
