By: Simbiat Bakare
A photo of Temitope Afolabi, a surrogate in Nigeria. Photo credit: DUBAWA
When Temitope Afolabi realised her husband could get imprisoned due to a N48 million debt he incurred from a bad business deal, she resolved to become a surrogate to earn money to save him. She had initially considered selling one of her kidneys, but unable to find a source, she settled for being a surrogate. Surrogacy is a form of assisted reproduction in which a woman (the surrogate) carries a pregnancy on behalf of a third party—the intended parent. Usually, the surrogate is paid for her service in a commercial arrangement.
The global surrogacy industry is valued at $27.9 billion, and the United Nations regards the practice as a form of violence against women and girls. Meanwhile, in Nigeria, surrogacy is becoming increasingly common. Celebrities like Nancy Umeh, Ini Edo, and Chimamanda Adichie have used surrogate services. Lifestyle influencer Ife Agoro also plans to use one regardless of health challenges.
But what is the experience of surrogates in Africa’s most populous country, and how did it become so common? I followed Temitope’s journey from pregnancy to postpartum through a Facebook Messenger conversation, where she unveiled her experience with me. I would eventually meet with her for more details.
Temitope became a surrogate in May 2024. She was paid about N2,233,000, including transportation, accommodation allowance, childbirth fee, and wardrobe allowance.
An infographic representing a breakdown of Temitope’s payment plan. Photo credit: DUBAWA via Temitope.
However, her compensation did not reflect Nigeria’s economic realities. Her N3,000 transportation allowance was insufficient to cover her logistics. She lives at Sango Ota, along Oju ore in Ogun State, and was to travel 41.9 kilometres to her healthcare centre in Ikorodu.
Although her transport fare was later increased to N5,000 after several complaints, the catch was that she would visit a clinic in Ikeja, Lagos State. Amidst tears, Temitope swore she always added an extra N1,000 from her funds to cover the lapse in logistics costs while enduring the stress of commuting farther. She also barely had enough money to eat after she paid her rent and her children’s school fees.
Her teary voice, while sharing her experience, soon switched to anger when she recounted that her agent collected N450,000 for logistics from intending parents, alleging they went to the hospital via Uber.
“Nigerians are users,” she said, her voice hoarse. “They just use people because of what they are going through. They did not even look at the stress of carrying pregnancies, vomiting, and everything. They are just using us as slaves because they believe that if you don’t do it, another person will.”
Although Temitope was informed of the compensation plan from the outset, she wasn’t aware of the terms and conditions until much later. Her contract, dated August 26, 2024, was given to her to sign when she was already three months pregnant. It includes a death clause stating she understands that she could die. A BBC report highlights that Nigeria is the worst country to give birth in, with one death happening every seven minutes. Also, Temitope’s contract mandates that only the intended parent and the doctor can decide how to proceed if the pregnancy is harming her health. She is also forbidden to speak to the media.
Temitope’s surrogacy contract. Sensitive information has been blurred for the confidentiality of the parties involved. Photo source: Temitope Afolabi.
During her journey as a surrogate, Temitope was prohibited from leaving her home and eating specific food items for two weeks: noodles, orange, pineapple, mineral drinks, and anything that burns were forbidden. She was also mandated to visit the agency regularly, even when she didn’t feel like it, or her child was sick.
After she delivered the baby on Feb 24, 2025, Temitope suffered several medical conditions. She began menstruating thrice a month, had a fibroid and ovarian cysts, and often suffered from lightheadedness. When she complained, she was told by her agent that post-partum healthcare ends at six weeks.
“I feel used, stupid, and depressed,” she said, expressing regret at being a surrogate. “At the end of the day, my husband still went to prison on Dec. 18, 2024.”
Like Temitope, another surrogate I spoke to reported medical challenges after childbirth. The student of the University of Benin, who wants to be kept anonymous, gave birth to twins as a surrogate. She shared that her healing process after birth was difficult, and she spent half of the money she was paid just to get better.
Dr Sunday Olarenwaju, the managing director of Mother and Child Hospital, said that twin pregnancies are dangerous.
Dr Sunday Olarenwaju, Managing Director, Mother and Child Hospital at Omole, Lagos. Photo credit: DUBAWA.
He explained that the more children a woman carries, the higher the risk of being exposed to diseases, including hypertension, haemorrhage, and even death. Researchers also document that when a woman gestates an embryo unrelated to her genes, she is more likely to develop placental issues and preeclampsia, among other ailments.
“Nigerians do not understand,” Temitope said, explaining she once tried to raise concerns about the experience of surrogates on social media. “They say we agreed to it. If not for financial problems, who would agree to such a thing? There is no one to fight for us,” her voice flattened in resignation.
Meta’s Complicity in Fuelling Surrogacy in Nigeria
While the surrogates I conversed with are of different age groups, one thing they have in common is that they belong to the Facebook Surrogate group: Egg donor and surrogate mother in Nigeria. The community, created on January 5, 2023, has over 4,800 members within two years.
An image showing the number of members in the group as of May 5, 2025. Photo credit: DUBAWA.
Countless surrogacy adverts flood the group daily. Some adverts encourage people to contact them via DM (Facebook Messenger) and WhatsApp.
A collage of surrogate adverts in the group. Photo credit: DUBAWA.
Meta is the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger. The multinational technology company has an estimated monthly active user base of 3.98 billion on its apps and has a community standard guiding its platforms.
Its website states that it has “a responsibility to promote the best of what people can do together by keeping people safe and preventing harm.” Its Community Standards, which guide Facebook advertisements, also prohibit content that facilitates human exploitation, such as sales of children and labour exploitation.
I contacted Meta through their dedicated email for the press. I inquired whether they consider surrogacy a form of human exploitation and, if so, why surrogacy groups such as Egg donors and surrogate mothers in Nigeria, which facilitate surrogacy for women like Temitope, exist. The tech giant deleted the group, with the response,
“Ads and Groups that exploit people through the sale or illegal adoption of children violate our policies, and we remove this content when it’s found – as we have done in this case.”
An image of the deleted Egg donor and surrogate mother in Nigeria by Meta after this investigation. Photo source: DUBAWA.
However, Olivia Maurel, the spokesperson for the Casablanca Declaration, an international non-governmental organisation working on a universal ban on surrogacy, advised that, beyond deleting such groups, Facebook should implement a policy that monitors and bans all forms of surrogacy advertisements in vulnerable regions like Nigeria.
Misinformation abounds
Beyond its rules against human exploitation, Meta is explicit in its intolerance for misinformation. Yet, conversations with surrogate agents on WhatsApp are often half-truths, outright lies, or concealment in their pursuit to recruit women.
One such experience is an interaction I had with a surrogate agent, Omobolanle Oguntolu, on WhatsApp. I found her advertisement for Surrogacy on Facebook in the Surrogate Mothers Nigeria group, which has over 5,600 members. She added her phone number to the post so interested surrogates could contact her through her agency, Regal Surrogate Services.
L-R: Surrogate Mothers Nigeria group & Regal Surrogate Services advert. Photo source: DUBAWA.
I brought the group Surrogate Mothers Nigeria to Meta’s attention, and they deleted it. However, when I contacted Omobolanle on WhatsApp about being a surrogate, she claimed she had helped more than 35 women become surrogates.
She told me I would be paid about N2,243,000 and sent me a breakdown.
An infographic representation of the breakdown of the N2,243,000 payment plan. Photo credit: DUBAWA.