A suspected member of a child-stealing and trafficking syndicate in Oyo State, Adejoke Popoola, has admitted selling two sets of children she gave birth to and allegedly stealing 19 other children for onward sale.
Popoola made the disclosure while speaking with journalists at the Oyo State Police Command headquarters in Ibadan on Monday, following her arrest in connection with an investigation into a suspected interstate child-trafficking network.
She said she had been involved in the alleged activities since October 2024, adding that she had sold a newborn boy and a set of twins.
Popoola claimed that she became pregnant easily and that terminating the pregnancies was difficult for her. She said she sold the newborn boy and the twins after giving birth to them.
According to her, she sold the twins to a clinic in Ogeere, which allegedly resold them to customers in Lagos.
She said she received between N80,000 and N120,000 for each child in some cases, while the clinic in Ogeere allegedly paid N300,000 for the twins.
Popoola, who said she had seven children of her own, explained that they were between six and 34 years old, with some already married.
She also confessed to stealing children after gaining access to homes under the pretence of searching for accommodation.
The suspect said she would visit houses and claim that she wanted to rent a property, adding that whenever she found children without anyone around, she would steal them.
According to her, a woman she worked with at Ogeere Market introduced her to the method of stealing children.
Popoola further alleged that she sometimes disguised herself as a spiritualist to gain access to children living with disabilities.
She said parents would bring their disabled children to her because they were unable to talk, sit or walk, and she would promise to help them recover before allegedly taking another person’s child for them.
The suspect also recounted how she allegedly abducted a three-year-old boy, Ifakunle Ifagbenro, during an Egungun festival in Oyo Town.
She said she travelled to the festival after hiring a commercial motorcyclist and joined the family during prayers before offering to assist with the child.
According to her, she joined the family in prayer and contributed money before the procession began.
She said that when the boy told his mother that he wanted to join the procession, she volunteered to help look after him.
Popoola alleged that she later carried the boy on her back during the procession before leaving the area with him in the evening.
She claimed that six of the 19 children she allegedly kidnapped had died, while 13 were still alive.
The Police Commissioner in Oyo State, Abimbola Olugbenga, said the investigation had so far led to the rescue of 17 children and the arrest of seven suspects.
Olugbenga disclosed this at a press briefing at the command headquarters in Eleyele, Ibadan, on Monday, saying an investigation that began with a petition had exposed a wider network allegedly involved in the stealing, transportation, sale and concealment of children across state boundaries.
The petition, dated July 29, 2026, was submitted by Popoola, also known as Orente Alagbo, of the Sogade area of Ariyo, Ibadan.
According to the commissioner, detectives later linked the investigation to the disappearance of Ifakunle, who went missing during the annual masquerade festival in Oyo Town on June 29.
Olugbenga said Popoola had offered to carry the boy during the procession before leaving the venue with him.
He added that photographs and video footage from the event showed Popoola carrying the child, while further investigation placed her with the boy around the period he disappeared.
The commissioner said Popoola was arrested on August 4 and allegedly admitted attending the festival and leaving with Ifakunle.
He said her statement became a major lead in the investigation, with the suspect allegedly disclosing her involvement in the theft of more than 15 children aged between two and seven from churches, parties and other gatherings in Oyo State and beyond.
Popoola allegedly identified Adekanbi Janet, also known as Hosanna, as an accomplice.
The police subsequently traced Janet to Mowe in Ogun State, where four children aged between two and four and two pregnant young women were allegedly rescued from her custody.
Olugbenga said Janet allegedly told investigators that stolen children were sometimes kept until buyers were found, while the pregnant women were allegedly kept in custody until they delivered their babies.
Information obtained from Janet, according to the police, also helped investigators locate and rescue Ifakunle around the Gbagi area of Ibadan on August 20.
The investigation later extended beyond the South-West when police detectives travelled to Agbor, Delta State, on September 2 and rescued four children allegedly stolen from Oyo State.
Two suspects, Christopher Joy, 48, and Rosemary Jesse, 53, were arrested during the operation, according to the commissioner.
Olugbenga said the operation established the interstate nature of the suspected trafficking network and also uncovered allegations involving the use of deceased children for ritual purposes.
He said suspects allegedly told investigators that children who died while in their custody were sold to suspected ritualists.
This, according to the commissioner, led to the arrest of Muritala Fasasi, an Alfa, and Yakubu Azeez, a herbalist.
The police said the six children who reportedly died in the custody of their alleged abductors were Musharaf Lawal Tajudeen, two; Greatness Adeagbo, five; Sainat Amoo, two; Taiwo Usman, two; Daniel Solomon Olayinka, seven; and Miracle Olaniyi, four.
Tribune
