• Six children allegedly died in captivity, 13 rescued alive
• Police recover 17 children, arrest seven suspects across three states
• Suspect reveals how she allegedly lured parents with ‘spiritual healing’
A suspected member of a child-stealing and trafficking syndicate, Adejoke Popoola, has confessed to allegedly stealing 19 children and selling two sets of babies she gave birth to.
Popoola, who spoke to journalists at the Oyo State Police Command headquarters in Ibadan on Monday, claimed she had been involved in child trafficking since October 2024.
She alleged that she sold a newborn boy and a set of twins, with the twins reportedly sold to a clinic in Ogeere for N300,000.
According to her, she received between N80,000 and N120,000 for some of the children she allegedly sold.
“I have sold two sets of children, a newborn boy and twins as well, last year. I sold the twins to a clinic; she also resells them to her customers in Lagos,” she said.
Popoola claimed that she had seven children of her own, adding that her eldest child was 34 years old while her youngest was six.
She also confessed to allegedly stealing other people’s children, saying she sometimes disguised herself as a prospective tenant to gain access to homes.
“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.
The suspect further claimed that a woman she worked with at Ogeere Market taught her how to steal children.
She said she sometimes posed as a spiritualist and targeted parents whose children had disabilities by allegedly promising to heal them.
“Sometimes, I disguise myself as a spiritualist. Parents bring their disabled children to me because they cannot talk, sit, or walk. So, I will promise them that I can help them to heal, then I will go and pick another person’s child for them,” she alleged.
How she allegedly stole three-year-old boy
Popoola also narrated how she allegedly abducted three-year-old Ifakunle Ifagbenro during an Egungun festival in Oyo Town.
She claimed she travelled to the venue after asking a commercial motorcyclist to take her there and joined a prayer session at the house where the child was staying.
According to her, she later volunteered to carry the boy during the masquerade procession after he told his mother he wanted to join the procession.
She alleged that when the procession ended, she carried the child on her back and fled.
Popoola claimed that six of the 19 children she allegedly kidnapped had died, while 13 remained alive.
Police rescue 17 children
The Commissioner of Police in Oyo State, Abimbola Olugbenga, said the police had so far rescued 17 children and arrested seven suspects in connection with the investigation.
He said the investigation began after a petition dated July 29, 2026, submitted by Popoola, also known as Orente Alagbo, but later expanded after detectives linked her to the disappearance of Ifakunle during the June 29 masquerade festival in Oyo Town.
According to the CP, Popoola was arrested on August 4 and allegedly admitted attending the festival and leaving with the missing child.
Her statement, he said, provided a major breakthrough, leading investigators to an alleged network involved in stealing, moving, selling and concealing children.
Olugbenga said Popoola allegedly disclosed that more than 15 children, aged between two and seven, had been stolen from churches, parties and other events within and outside Oyo State.
She also reportedly identified Adekanbi Janet, alias Hosanna, as an alleged accomplice.
Janet was traced to Mowe, Ogun State, where police allegedly rescued four children aged between two and four, as well as two pregnant young women.
The CP said information obtained from the investigation later led to the rescue of Ifakunle around the Gbagi area of Ibadan on August 20.
Detectives subsequently travelled to Agbor, Delta State, on September 2, where four children allegedly stolen from Oyo State were rescued from suspected buyers.
Two suspects, Christopher Joy, 48, and Rosemary Jesse, 53, were arrested in connection with the operation.
Police uncover alleged ritual angle
The investigation also allegedly uncovered a ritual dimension to the suspected trafficking network.
Olugbenga said suspects allegedly disclosed that when children died in their custody, their bodies were sold to suspected ritualists.
This reportedly led to the arrest of Muritala Fasasi, an Alfa, and Yakubu Azeez, a herbalist.
The police boss said six children allegedly died while in the custody of the suspected traffickers.
They 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 police said investigation was ongoing to unravel the full network and bring all those allegedly involved to justice.
Olugbenga urged parents and guardians whose children had gone missing to visit the command headquarters in Eleyele, Ibadan, to identify the rescued children and facilitate their reunification with their families.
