Six children abducted by a suspected child-stealing and human trafficking syndicate have been confirmed dead while in captivity, the Oyo State Police Command has disclosed.
The command also announced the rescue of 17 children and the arrest of seven suspects following an intelligence-led investigation into a criminal network allegedly involved in the stealing, trafficking and concealment of children across state lines.
The Oyo State Commissioner of Police, CP Abimbola Olugbenga, disclosed this at a press briefing held at the Police State Headquarters, Eleyele, Ibadan on Monday.
According to him, the investigation began with a petition dated July 29, 2026, submitted by Adejoke Popoola, also known as Orente Alagbo, of Sogade Area, Ariyo, Ibadan, over allegations bordering on conspiracy, cyberbullying, threat to life and defamation of character.
The petition was subsequently assigned to the Anti-Kidnapping Squad on August 3.
Olugbenga said that while detectives were examining the circumstances surrounding the petition, their attention was drawn to the disappearance of a three-year-old boy, Ifakunle Ifagbenro, during an annual masquerade festival in Oyo Town on June 29.
The commissioner said the child had accompanied his father to his father-in-law’s family compound for the festival, while Popoola had arrived two days earlier to participate in preparations for the event.
He said Popoola offered to carry the child during the event, after which both of them disappeared from the venue.
The matter was subsequently reported at the Atiba Police Divisional Headquarters, Oyo Town.
According to the police chief, pictorial and video materials from the event showed Popoola carrying the missing child, while digital trails and statements obtained from persons connected to the event further established that she was with the child around the time of his disappearance.
Popoola was arrested on August 4 and, according to the commissioner, admitted attending the masquerade festival and subsequently leaving with the missing child.
Her statement, Olugbenga said, provided the first major breakthrough into what investigators discovered to be a wider criminal network.
The suspect disclosed that she had been involved in the alleged stealing of more than 15 children, aged between two and seven years, from churches, parties and other event venues within and outside Oyo State.
She also reportedly identified one Adekanbi Janet, also known as Hosanna, as her partner in the alleged criminal enterprise.
Adekanbi was subsequently traced to Mowe, Ogun State, where police rescued four children aged between two and four years from custody and recovered two pregnant young women.
The commissioner said Adekanbi admitted knowing Popoola for about 10 years in connection with the alleged stealing and sale of children, although she denied having custody of Ifakunle.
According to him, Adekanbi further disclosed that some of the stolen children were kept in custody pending their sale, while the pregnant women were allegedly cared for until delivery.
Information obtained from her subsequently led detectives to the location of Ifakunle, who was rescued around the Gbagi area of Ibadan on August 20.
The investigation later extended beyond Oyo State.
Olugbenga said detectives travelled to Agbor, Delta State, on September 2, where four children allegedly stolen from Oyo State were rescued from their suspected buyers.
Two suspects, identified as 48-year-old Christopher Joy and 53-year-old Rosemary Jesse, were arrested and allegedly confessed to involvement in the business.
The development, he said, confirmed the interstate dimension of the criminal network and showed that children were being moved outside Oyo State as part of the alleged criminal enterprise.
The commissioner further disclosed that the investigation uncovered an alleged ritual dimension to the activities of the syndicate.
According to him, one of the suspects confessed that whenever a child died while in their custody, the body would allegedly be sold to ritualists.
The disclosure reportedly led to the arrest of Muritala Fasasi, an Alfa, and Yakubu Azeez, a herbalist, who the police said had confessed to their alleged involvement in using the bodies for ritual purposes.
The development came against the backdrop of a chilling testimony attributed to one of the principal suspects, who allegedly told investigators that she had stolen 13 children before her arrest.
In the testimony, the suspect, nicknamed Orente, reportedly said she would visit homes and, whenever she found nobody around, take a child.
Asked how much the children were sold for, she mentioned amounts ranging from N500,000 to N600,000. She also claimed to have operated in the business since October 2024.
The suspect allegedly described how children could be taken from places where traditional or spiritual activities were being held, including masquerade festivals, by gaining the confidence of parents.
In one account, she reportedly said she would tell parents of children with disabilities that she could help heal them before taking the children away.
The six deceased children were identified as Musharaf Lawal Tajudeen, two; Greatness Adeagbo, five; Sainat Amoo, two; Taiwo Usman, two; Daniel Solomon Olayinka, seven; and Miracle Olaniyi, four.
The command said the 17 rescued children are Ifakunle Ifagbenro, three; Musibau Olasupo, five; Sulaimon Osamo, seven; Murina Fidaus, three; Aminat Yusuf, three; Taiwo Olamilekan, three; an infant male aged nine days; Rafiat Waheed Babalola, two; Quwiyat Alade, five; Rejoice Divine, three; Alhaji Divine, five; Eniolorunda, three; Victoria, three; Isoma Prince, three; Roqeeba, four; Boluwatife Odedeyi, three; and Ireoluwa Elizabeth Olapade, seven.
The commissioner appealed to parents and guardians who had lost their children in recent times to visit the Police Command Headquarters, Eleyele, Ibadan, to identify the rescued children and facilitate their reunification with their families.
He said the command was working with other security and government agencies to uncover the full structure of the alleged network, locate other missing children, establish the circumstances surrounding the reported deaths and ensure that anyone found culpable was brought to justice.
Olugbenga urged members of the public to remain vigilant and report cases of missing children to the police without delay.
He particularly cautioned parents and guardians to exercise care when dealing with individuals who present themselves as traditional or spiritual healers, especially where such persons seek to separate children from their families or take them to undisclosed locations.
The commissioner also appealed to members of the public with credible information that could assist the investigation to contact the police, assuring that such information would be handled professionally and, where necessary, confidentially.
He reaffirmed the command’s commitment to protecting children and other vulnerable persons, dismantling criminal networks and ensuring that justice was served in accordance with the law.
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