in a surreal scam that has taken hold in nigeria. let me tell you, without mincing words, cryptic pregnancy cannot exist without child trafficking. there's enormous pressure to have children in nigeria. even with one of the highest fertility rates in the world, many couples still struggle to conceive. and when that happens, it's the women who are made to feel like failures. ostracised, abused, and brutalised in some cases, some are pushed to extremes in their quest to have a baby. women likejuliet.

every woman wants to be a mother. and even society, the way it treats women that don't have children, it's as if they have committed a crime. for 11 years, juliet and her husband tried unsuccessfully to conceive. it brought her so much pain, and she couldn't bear to see her husband suffer as much as she was. i even told my husband to go and get married. i wanted him to be happy. i wanted him to be a father. juliet�*s desperate longing for a child led her to seek all sorts of possible treatments. i nearly died. the woman gave me a drug, and told me i'm going to have a runny stomach. i took the drug, and before i knew it, i was unable to breathe. juliet�*s husband begged her to stop searching for solutions, but a new glimmer of hope appeared on the horizon. in 2018, people started telling me about this cryptic

pregnancy. i was very happy. cryptic pregnancy is a medical term. it refers to when a person is unaware that they are pregnant until late in the pregnancy. it's a rare phenomenon. but here, it refers to something completely different — a miracle fertility treatment. it's big business. and it's a scam. the woman is convinced that if she visits a cryptic nurse or a doctor, she's going to get an injection, a tablet, or a solution that she will drink. and after she goes home, she sleeps with her husband, she's going to get pregnant. but that pregnancy is not going to show up in tests, it's not going to show up in scans. victims are led to believe that scans won't detect the baby because it isn't actually in the womb, but, rather, towards their back. once they are told they are pregnant, they go for regular check—ups, where they're given

drugs, which sometimes leads to changes in their body. you see somebody with i protruding stomach, legs swollen and everything... and when the time for delivery comes, women are told they can only be induced by the scammers themselves. your doctor will call you and say, "come and give birth today. " we've heard numerous reports of how women do actually believe they've given birth. my colleagues, ebere and chiagozie, have been investigating how scammers prey on couples�* desperation for a child, especially online, for years. these groups have, like, 5,000 members. 5,000? really? 3,000 members. yes, loads of people. it's a phenomena that is not just endemic in nigeria. really? it's also south africa, the caribbean. they are all in this one group, talking about the same thing. can you show me some of this stuff? yeah. "most cryptic pregnancy goes with monthly flow. "don't be confused or scared." most women know that having | a monthly cycle has something to do with the womb, -

so they convince them that you're carrying it at the back. you don't need i to worry yourself. you'll still be - seeing your period. there's also a religious aspect to this scam. the christianity followed by many in nigeria embraces the miraculous — and when miracles are possible, nothing is impossible. people don't argue when religion is involved. they see it as something that transcends science. anyone that expresses any doubts is immediately expelled from these groups. somebody willjust come - in and say, "my husband is no longer comfortable with this," and men will shut her down i and delete her from the group. it seems so obvious that people would have doubts, but many are willing to believe. when it comes to having children, whatever rational mind you think you have can be easily undone when there are so many people on your neck pressurising you. even within my own family,

family friends, i've seen what that pressure can do, and it can be really lonely. so, if someone is offering you what you feel is a lifeline, i can see how people would take it. after weeks of research, chiagozie and ebere were connected with one so—called cryptic doctor, operating in the southeastern state of anambra. her clients call her dr ruth. ebere and chiagozie are on their way to an appointment with her, posing as a couple that have been trying to conceive for eight years. the clinic is in a small hotel. inside, dozens of women are waiting. some have travelled for hours to get here. while ebere and chiagozie wait in the corridors, they hear cheers ofjoy coming from the consultation room.

a woman has just been told she's pregnant. then it's ebere�*s turn. this is dr ruth. dr ruth reassures chiagozie that this is a tried—and—tested method. this initial treatment normally costs just over 200 us dollars. ebere is told she can choose the sex of her child, but only if she accepts an injection. not knowing what's in it, chiagozie and ebere refuse the offer. dr ruth hands her a sachet of a crushed, unlabelled substance instead,

and she instructs ebere and chiagozie on when they should be having intercourse and how to take the drugs. 0k. 0k, thank you. ebere will be expected to return in four weeks to see if she might be pregnant. to understand what pushes people to choose this surreal path over more conventional, medically sound solutions, i meet with gynaecologist dr kingsley in enugu, a neighbouring state to anambra. the core problem is the certainty that you go home with a baby.

the in vitro fertilisation is there. you can have surrogacy, you can have donor egg. all those things are available. but the problem is the failure rate is high, so people tend to err towards cryptic, those that can afford it. cryptic pregnancy, it's not really for poor people. not only are these want—to—be parents better off, they also tend to be better educated. but the certainty of coming out with a baby is enough for them to ignore what might be behind all of this, or to worry about their own health. we don't know the drugs they give to them, and when you're taking unknown drugs or herbal concoctions, that has potential to cause some health issues. and yet, this doesn't seem to be discouraging people. how widespread, would you say, this issue is? it's shrouded in secrecy. what we'll see, i think,

is the tip of the iceberg. it's ebere�*s follow—up appointment with dr ruth to see whether the treatment has been a success. ebere has not taken any of the drugs dr ruth gave her, the drugs that reportedly would have ensured she got pregnant. ebere greets one of dr ruth's clients. inside, the woman starts complaining. she's been pregnant for over nine months and has yet to deliver. during our investigation, we've heard this many times — women going through the cryptic

pregnancy treatment having to wait way beyond a normal gestation period before being ready to give birth. when ebere steps into the room, dr ruth brings out a device that looks like an ultrasound scanner. she places it on ebere�*s stomach, and moments later, a tiny sound is heard. simulated heartbeat laughter it's heartbreaking to know that for the women that visit dr ruth, this moment of elation, hearing the news that you're pregnant, is all an illusion. dr ruth explains the next steps.

so, ebere will not deliver until a drug is administered, and getting this drug is not going to be easy. 1.5 to 1.8 million — that's around 1,000 us dollars per child. but what happens after nine months if the money isn't ready? thank you. yes, ebere would continue to be pregnant, but the foetus would weaken and it would take time to ensure it's healthy again. and while this goes on, somewhere, there's a baby

being bought and sold. afterjuliet�*s husband's initial hesitation, she managed to convince him to begin the process. but as the treatment started, doubts started to creep in. my stomach did not grow more than me being fat. directly against the instructions of the scammers, juliet sought external medical advice from a regular hospital, and her doubts were fuelled further. i was still seeing my period and i was not seeing vital information. lab — negative. ultrasound — negative. nothing. i was hoping that by nine months, i would be a mother. but then they told me that i would carry the baby for at least one year and five months, at least. you find these women carrying these babies for months - without delivery, because

they're looking for drugs, j and the drug they are looking for is someone who will givel birth to a baby that they will give to these women. - the "drug", in quotes, is the baby. _ it could be that at the end of that nine months, they don't have... a baby to give, right. ..somebody who is pregnant to give you a baby. right. so they make it kind of not bound by time. do you actually think that these women are aware that this is a scam? if you look at the conversation in groups, you will know that. some actually know that this is a scam. | yeah. — but most of them don't know. while many women may believe in this scam, anambra's state commissioner for women's affairs knows better, and her government is on a mission. let me tell you, without mincing words, cryptic pregnancy cannot exist without child trafficking. anybody that tells you you will have a child through cryptic pregnancy is a liar. don't be gullible.

you are going to be given another person's child, a trafficked child. we head to a brothel that's about to be raided by the police and the commissioner's department. during her years in office, the commissioner has overseen dozens of raids like this. brothel, trafficking, cryptic pregnancy — they work hand—in—hand. open it! if there's any girl that is pregnant in this brothel, they will sell the baby. the doors have padlocks on them.

the police have been trying to kick them in, but they haven't been able to just yet. it's a really sort of maze of a house — lots of different rooms, lots of different compartments. eventually, the police manage to clear the building — and i'm left stunned. oh, my god, they're all... they're all babies. they're all kids. i can't bear the thought of how awful it must be to not only be potentially trafficked into prostitution, but then, should you become pregnant, to be forced to give the baby away. back at dr kingsley�*s hospital, ebere gets a pregnancy test and confirms what we all know. the result came out negative. and how accurate is this test? very accurate.

so, she's categorically not pregnant? she's not pregnant. good morning, madam. how are you? phone call: good morning, sir. how is your family? chiagozie, who had posed as ebere�*s husband, reaches out to one of dr ruth's clients. he pretends to have concerns about their pregnancy. yeah. chiagozie also wants to establish that beyond taking people's money, in some ways, dr ruth is also involved in baby trafficking.

so many lives upended, so many babies caught in cryptic clinics all over the region — clinics like this one that we saw raided at the beginning of the film. some of the pregnant women found here were taken and kept against their will. others knew exactly where they were and why. some of these girls wouldn't want their parents to know that they�* re pregnant. then they will quietly disappear and go to such places and stay. then after giving birth, they will be given money. some were brought there by their parents. the economy is harsh. they wouldn't be able to take care of, uh,

their babies, that it's better for them to sell. the commissioner adds that the cryptic pregnancy scammers often use agents — people on the lookout for vulnerable pregnant women. they will talk you into detail, tell you how much they are going to pay you if you go to that place. but you will be kept there until you give birth to that child. that's what uju, who was one of the women caught up in the raid, wanted to do. had the raid not happened, she would have sold her baby. i found out that i was pregnant, so i told my girlfriend about it. she then asked me to come to anambra. she directed me to that doctor, and he told me that after giving birth, i would sell the baby, so i could continue living my life. they said that after delivery, they will give me money. how much money did they say they would give you? 800,000. 800,000 naira. now, looking back, do

you regret that decision? i am still confused. you're still confused. it's ok. nigeria has very restrictive abortion laws, which criminalise abortion with steep penalties, and pregnancies can't be terminated unless it's required to save the life of the mother. i know some people will baulk at the idea of, "how could you sell your child ? " and of course i'm not condoning that, but i think you need

to kind of put yourself in their shoes and try to understand what would push someone to feel like that is the only option. and what does that say about society, that so many girls feel like this is the only option? as we join the commissioner again, a baby is at the centre of an extraordinary exchange. she's interviewing a couple who got their child through the cryptic pregnancy clinic that we saw raided in february. the couple was surrounded by the husband's family, and the atmosphere was tense. the family don't believe that the baby is their biological child, but the couple insist he is.

along with deliveries like this, where women say they are induced and give birth, others speak of a caesarean—like incision. the commissioner probes the couple further. throughout all of this, i couldn't take my eyes away from the tiny baby, so small and so innocent. and my heart sank when the commissioner threatened to take him away from the couple.

i want you to come out clean, then i will be able to help you. if not, i'm collecting this baby from you... the commissioner acknowledges that the woman in this case is also a victim, but makes the couple agree that if the biological parents come forward to claim the baby, they would have to give him up. i don't know, maybe it's just me, but i still felt, like, empathy towards these parents. they believe... ..that they went through this process and this is their child. amidst all the doubts and despair, juliet stopped seeing her so—called cryptic

doctor after a few months. but determined to be a mother, she did something that's frowned upon in some parts of nigeria — she adopted two children. i can now proudly say i'm a mother. they are such a joy to me. many of our people, they see adoption as something that you don't talk about. they will tell you, "why are you adopting? "you are adopting somebody�*s child. "do you know whether that person is a criminal? "do you know this? do you know that?" but having these children was just like me carrying my own child. they brought so much joy to my heart, they broughtjoy to my family, they broughtjoy to the people around me, because they are just the best. juliet�*s story offers a ray of hope, but it's still heartbreaking to me to know that there are still so many women that are, knowingly or not, falling for this scam. taking on trafficked children, putting god knows

what inside your own body, lying to everybody around you, like...nobody would just do that for the fun of it. there's something pushing women to do it, and that is the stuff that needs to be addressed. until you change the mentality towards women and infertility, towards access to reproductive rights and adoption, scams like this will continue to thrive, and countless more women will continue to pay the price.

hello there. sunday was a day of snow, a day of disruption for some, and now the met office has extended the amber weather warning. it's going to be valid until 6:00am on monday morning. they've shrunk the area a little, it includes the lake district. some areas could see as much as ten 10—15cm of further snow, on top of already significant snowfall and blizzard—like conditions, with strong winds close to the centre of the low. we'll continue to see some snow showers through the night across north—east scotland, across the peaks and pennines as well, across the north of england. rain elsewhere, but with temperatures here in rural spots falling below freezing, ice could be an issue as well first thing. so an icy start. be careful if you're

going to be out on the roads early on, particularly if the snow showers are set to continue. as we go through the morning, there'll be further snow showers driven along by strong north to north—westerly winds. some of those will run down through wales and into the midlands here. a wintry mix of rain, sleet and snow. south of the m4 corridor, some brightness. but look at the gusts of winds. gusts in excess quite widely of 40—115 mph, and coming from a north—westerly direction, that is going to make it feel cold. so your thermometer might suggest 3—6 celsius, but factor in the strength and the direction of the wind, for many of us, it will feel subzero. that cold air stays in place as well as we move through tuesday. still pretty windy with it, and that will continue to drive in a rash of snow showers draped along the coast. some pushing further inland as well. the best of any brightness further south, but again,

another cold story. now, as we move out of tuesday into wednesday, the winds will fall a little lighter as the low pressure moves off to scandinavia. but we'll need to keep an eye on this frontal system moving in from the south. it could be a little bit further north and run the risk of bringing some rain across channel coasts, but certainly will bring a little bit more in the way of cloud and spoil the sunshine. a northerly wind continues to drive in some showers to the far north of scotland. sunshine elsewhere, but temperatures again really struggling. so as we go through the week ahead, it looks likely that this cold spell will continue, and icy starts for many. cold wintry showers continuing and a widespread frost.

live from singapore, this is bbc news. south korea investigators ask for an extension for their arrest warrant for president yoon, as us secretary of of state antony blinken holds key talks in seoul. millions of people across the us are in the grip of a huge winter storm that could bring the heaviest snowfall and coldest temperatures in over a decade. plus — the 82nd golden globes takes place in los angeles. we'll bring you the latest, live from the red carpet.

welcome to newsday, i'm steve lai. the us secretary of state, antony blinken, is in south korea, as the country deals with its ongoing political crisis. mr blinken is due to hold talks with acting president choi sang—mok shortly. but it's unclear who is really in charge. on friday, investigators tried and failed to arrest the impeached president, yoon suk yeol, with his bodyguards preventing the officers from making the arrest. on sunday, they said they'd stop any further attempts to detain mr yoon. and in the last few hours, south korea's anti—corruption agency requested an extension to their arrest warrant, and sent a notice to police that it is handing over the execution of the arrest to them. meanwhile, mass protests both for and against the president have been taking place in seoul. thousands on each side have taken to the streets over the weekend as the country falls deeper into political divide. i'm joined now by kim

joon—hyung, an opposition mp from the rebuilding korea party.