Expert investigator Henrietta Coker found evidence linking the case to illegal Nigerian ‘baby factories’
A Nigerian woman, identified as Susan, was arrested at Gatwick Airport last summer after arriving from Nigeria with a baby she falsely claimed to have given birth to. Living in West Yorkshire with her husband and children, Susan told her GP she was pregnant, but scans revealed no pregnancy. DNA tests confirmed the baby, Eleanor, had no genetic link to Susan or her husband.
Susan later claimed an IVF procedure with donor eggs and forged hospital documents to support her story. Family Court judge Recorder William Tyler KC ruled the couple caused Eleanor “significant emotional and psychological harm” through a “fundamental lie”. Expert investigator Henrietta Coker found evidence linking the case to illegal Nigerian “baby factories”.
The judge declared non-parentage and ordered Eleanor to be adopted, saying she is now “very settled” with foster carers. Anti-trafficking charity ECPAT described such cases as “heinous”. UK authorities pledged action, warning, “People who do this will face the full force of the law.”