Former Vice President and African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has raised alarm over reports that some young Nigerians are resorting to selling their kidneys in desperate attempts to survive the country’s economic hardship.
Atiku, in a statement posted on X on Thursday, described the reports as “disturbing,” saying young Nigerians should be using their talents and ideas to build their future rather than being forced by poverty to consider selling parts of their bodies.
“I have heard disturbing stories about the extent to which young Nigerians are being driven simply to survive,” Atiku said.
He added that among the most troubling reports were those of young people allegedly selling body organs, particularly kidneys, to raise money.
According to him, young Nigerians should be “selling dreams, ideas and innovation, not their body organs,”explaining that the development should concern every Nigerian.
Atiku claimed that some young Nigerians were reportedly being offered as little as N1.7 million for a kidney.
However, the figure could not be independently verified by PUNCH at the time of its report.
The former Vice President attributed the situation to the rising cost of living, accusing the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of making basic necessities increasingly unaffordable.
He listed food, transportation, rent, school fees, medicines and electricity among the expenses putting pressure on ordinary Nigerians.
Atiku said the situation had gone beyond ordinary economic hardship when young people began considering their kidneys as a means of raising emergency funds.
“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,” he said.
He acknowledged that Nigeria has laws prohibiting commercial organ sales and organ trafficking, but argued that legislation alone would not solve the problem if poverty and desperation continued to make vulnerable young people easy targets for criminal networks.
Atiku therefore called for economic reforms that would improve the living conditions of Nigerians, including affordable food, cheaper transportation, accessible healthcare, decent employment opportunities and renewed hope for young people.
His comments come amid recent police investigations into an alleged organ-trafficking syndicate.
According to reports, the Nigeria Police Force recently paraded four suspects, including two nephrologists, over the alleged operation. Investigators reportedly alleged that one of the suspects admitted recruiting victims and that a 22-year-old man was allegedly lured to a hospital in Abuja, where his kidney was harvested.
Police investigators said the alleged syndicate targeted financially vulnerable young people in Nasarawa and neighbouring areas.
Atiku concluded his statement with a direct political criticism of the Tinubu administration, saying: “Tinubu made Nigeria expensive. I will make Nigeria affordable again.”
The allegation of widespread kidney sales among Nigerian youths remains a serious matter requiring independent investigation and confirmation by relevant authorities, particularly given the potential for exploitation and organ-trafficking networks to prey on economically vulnerable people.
The report is based primarily on the September 4, 2026 PUNCH report, which also noted that the N1.7 million figure had not been independently verified.
punchng.com
Tags: Atiku Abubakar, Kidney Sales, Economic Hardship, Nigerian Youths, Organ Trafficking, Tinubu, ADC, Nigeria Economy
