A 50-year-old woman has been arrested and 22 orphans rescued, after the Delta State government raided an illegal orphanage in Ashaka in Ndokwa East Local Government Area.
The state government said the erring orphanage Foster Paradise which was shut down, breached the Child Rights Bill.
Commissioner for Women Affairs, Community and Social Development, Mrs Flora Alatan, represented by an official, Mrs. Oghenekevwe Agas, stressed the imperatives of compliance with the rules and regulations guiding the process of setting up an orphanage.
She said the proprietress was unable to provide any detailed registration documents accounting for the number of children in their custody.
She said that the safety of the children was the priority of government, stressing that the ministry did not have the accurate data and information concerning the children.
The orphans were sent to accredited orphanages in Ughelli, and Ogwashi-Uku in Ughelli North and Aniocha South LGA’s respectively.
The suspect identified as Mrs Antonett said she relocated from Lagos and had begun the registration process but had not acquired the licence.