Nigerian woman loses custody after baby brought to UK found not biologically hers

A Nigerian woman living in West Yorkshire has lost custody of a baby she brought into the UK, after a British Family Court ruled she had no biological connection to the child and may have obtained her through illegal means.

The woman, identified as Susan, was arrested at Gatwick Airport in July 2024 upon arrival from Nigeria with a newborn girl, Eleanor.

Before her trip, Susan had told her GP she was pregnant, but medical tests showed no signs of pregnancy instead revealing a tumour she refused to treat. Susan claimed her pregnancies were undetectable, saying “my babies are always hidden,” as reported by the BBC.

She travelled to Nigeria in June, later telling UK doctors she had given birth there. Police and social services intervened when she returned with the baby. DNA tests showed no genetic link between the child and either Susan or her husband. When pressed, Susan claimed she conceived Eleanor through IVF using donor egg and sperm before moving to the UK in 2023.

She provided documents and photos to support her claim, but an expert social worker, Henrietta Coker, found they were forged.

The supposed clinic had no record of her treatment. The hospital where she claimed to have given birth turned out to be a rundown flat manned by teenagers in nurse uniforms. The doctor who signed the birth letter confirmed someone gave birth there, but not Susan.

“Impersonating people is common in this part of the world,” he told the investigator.

Messages on Susan’s phone raised further suspicion. In one, she wrote to a contact saved as “Mum oft Lagos Baby” asking for hospital items. The reply listed costs for “delivery drugs” and “hospital bill,” suggesting a possible baby transaction.

Judge Recorder William Tyler KC said Susan and her husband fabricated the story of Eleanor’s birth, used false documents, and caused the child “significant emotional and psychological harm.”

He ordered Eleanor be placed for adoption and issued a declaration of non-parentage.

Social worker Vikki Horspool, representing the child’s guardian, said the couple “continued to be dishonest” about the baby’s origins. Though Susan’s lawyers pleaded for the child’s return, the court ruled in favour of permanent adoption.

Eleanor’s true origins remain unknown. The case echoes similar incidents involving babies brought into the UK from West Africa. Expert Henrietta Coker told the court she had worked on around a dozen such cases since the pandemic, warning that baby trafficking is “widespread” across the global south.

The UK has restricted adoptions from Nigeria since 2021 due to trafficking concerns. A Home Office spokesperson said: “Falsely claiming to be the parent of a child to facilitate entry to the UK is illegal.”