Seven American children that were discovered abandoned at a Nigerian orphanage, suffering from disease and malnutrition have been brought back to the United States, officials in the state of Texas announced today. Child Protective Services (CPS) in the state of Texas, which received emergency custody of the children upon their return to the United States Monday, is investigating accusations that the children's mother, whose identity was not released, abandoned them in Nigeria in October and later went to work in Iraq as a private contractor. The children were removed from school because payment for their tuition stopped. Nigerian child-protection authorities found the children living in a wooden shack, malnourished and sick, and moved them to an orphanage in late July. The three boys and four girls, ranging from ages 8 to 16, were then discovered in late July by a visiting Texas missionary, who notified House of Representatives Majority Leader Tom DeLay and Senator John Cornyn, both of Texas. The lawmakers then worked with the U.S. State Department and the U.S. ambassador in Nigeria to bring the children back to the United States. State officials are now attempting to determine whether criminal charges can be filed against the mother, who is scheduled to appear in a Houston, Texas court on August 26th.
