OYO CHILD TRAFFICKING: Suspect Confesses to Selling Own Babies, Stealing 19 Others
By KEMI KASUMU
“I have sold two sets of children, a newborn boy and twins as well, last year. I sold the twins to a clinic in Ogeere for N300,000. She also resells them to her customers in Lagos,” Popoola said.
A suspected child trafficker, Adejoke Popoola, has allegedly confessed to selling two sets of babies she gave birth to and abducting 19 other children for onward sale.
Popoola made the disclosure on Monday while speaking with journalists at the Oyo State Police Command headquarters in Ibadan, amid an ongoing investigation into an alleged interstate child-trafficking syndicate.
According to the suspect, she became involved in the alleged trafficking operation in October 2024 and sold a newborn boy and a set of twins.
She claimed that the twins were sold to a clinic in Ogeere for N300,000, while she sometimes received between N80,000 and N120,000 for other children.
“I have sold two sets of children, a newborn boy and twins as well, last year. I sold the twins to a clinic in Ogeere for N300,000. She also resells them to her customers in Lagos,” Popoola said.
She explained that she became involved in selling babies after the men responsible for the pregnancies allegedly rejected the children.
Popoola, who said she has seven children of her own, also allegedly admitted to abducting children by gaining access to homes under the guise of searching for accommodation.
“I steal babies. I will go to their place and say I want to rent a house. Then, if I do not see anyone, if I see their children, I will just steal their children,” she said.
She claimed that a woman she worked with at Ogeere Market introduced her to the method.
The suspect further alleged that she sometimes posed as a spiritualist to gain access to children with disabilities. She reportedly told parents that she could treat children who could not speak, sit or walk, before allegedly taking away another child and presenting a different child to the parents.
One of the cases she reportedly recounted involved three-year-old Ifakunle Ifagbenro, who disappeared during an Egungun festival in Oyo town on June 29.
Popoola allegedly admitted that she attended the festival with the intention of stealing a child and later volunteered to carry Ifakunle during the masquerade procession.
She reportedly joined the family during prayers, contributed money and subsequently offered to carry the child before leaving the procession with him.
Popoola claimed that of the 19 children she allegedly stole, six died while 13 survived.
Police uncover wider trafficking network
The revelations followed a broader investigation by the Oyo State Police Command into an alleged interstate child-trafficking network.
The Commissioner of Police, Abimbola Olugbenga, said the command had rescued 17 children and arrested seven suspects in connection with the investigation.
Olugbenga said the investigation began following a petition dated July 29, 2026, but subsequently uncovered what detectives described as a wider network allegedly involved in the abduction, movement, sale and concealment of children.
According to the commissioner, investigators were drawn to Popoola following the disappearance of Ifakunle during the annual masquerade festival in Oyo.
He said photographs and video recordings from the event allegedly showed Popoola carrying the child, while subsequent investigations reportedly placed her with the boy around the period he disappeared.
Olugbenga said Popoola was arrested on August 4 and allegedly admitted attending the festival and leaving with the missing child.
The commissioner said her statement became a major breakthrough, as she allegedly disclosed involvement in the theft of more than 15 children aged between two and seven from churches, parties and other social gatherings within and outside Oyo State.
Suspect allegedly names accomplice
Olugbenga said Popoola also named Adekanbi Janet, popularly known as Hosanna, as an alleged accomplice.
Police subsequently traced Janet to Mowe, Ogun State, where detectives allegedly rescued four children aged between two and four years, as well as two pregnant young women.
According to the police commissioner, Janet allegedly told investigators that some of the stolen children were kept until buyers were found, while the pregnant women were allegedly housed until they gave birth.
Information reportedly provided by Janet helped detectives locate Ifakunle in the Gbagi area of Ibadan on August 20.
The investigation was subsequently extended to Agbor in Delta State, where police said four children allegedly stolen from Oyo State were rescued on September 2.
Two suspects, identified as Christopher Joy, 48, and Rosemary Jesse, 53, were arrested during the operation, according to the police.
Olugbenga said the arrests further strengthened the suspicion that the trafficking operation extended across state boundaries.
Police allege ritual dimension
The investigation also took a darker turn after police said some suspects disclosed that children who died while in their custody were allegedly sold for ritual purposes.
The alleged revelation led to the arrest of two additional suspects identified by the police as Muritala Fasasi, an Alfa, and Yakubu Azeez, a herbalist.
Olugbenga said six children were reportedly killed while in the custody of suspected abductors.
The police identified the deceased children as Musharaf Lawal Tajudeen, two; Greatness Adeagbo, five; Sainat Amoo, two; Taiwo Usman, two; Daniel Solomon Olayinka, seven; and Miracle Olaniyi, four.
The commissioner appealed to parents and guardians who had recently lost children to visit the Oyo State Police Command headquarters in Eleyele, Ibadan, to check the rescued children and facilitate their reunification with their families.
He assured the public that the investigation would continue, saying detectives were working to identify other members of the suspected network and determine the full extent of its activities.
The suspects’ allegations remain subject to further investigation and judicial determination.
