The Oyo State Police Command has uncovered an interstate child-stealing and human trafficking syndicate, resulting in the rescue of 17 children and the arrest of seven suspects across Oyo, Ogun, and Delta states.What began as a police inquiry into an unrelated petition filed by one Adejoke Popoola—also known as Orente Alagbo—quickly unravelled into a widespread criminal operation when detectives linked her to the sudden disappearance of a three-year-old boy, Ifakunle Ifagbenro, during an annual masquerade festival in Oyo Town on June 29, 2026. Video footage and photographic evidence from the event showed Popoola carrying the young child shortly before both vanished.Following her arrest on August 4, Popoola confessed to taking the boy and admitted to a broader history of child abduction and baby selling that she claimed dated back to October 2024.
During police interrogation at the command headquarters in Eleyele, Ibadan, Popoola openly detailed her methods, explaining that she frequently targeted public gatherings, masquerade festivals, churches, and private residences. She recounted posing as a prospective tenant to enter homes and snatch unattended children, as well as disguising herself as a spiritualist promising traditional cures to parents of children with disabilities before abducting other minors.Beyond stealing children, Popoola confessed to selling her own biological infants, including a newborn boy and a set of twins.She claimed to have sold the twins for ₦300,000 to a clinic operator in Ogeere, Ogun State, who subsequently resold infants to buyers in Lagos.She added that she typically received between ₦80,000 and ₦120,000 for each child she delivered to buyers.
The disclosures provided by Popoola enabled police detectives to track down her chief accomplice, Adekanbi Janet (alias Hosanna), in Mowe, Ogun State.A raid on Janet’s facility led to the rescue of four children aged between two and four, alongside two pregnant young women who were being cared for until delivery for child harvesting.Further leads generated from Janet resulted in the safe recovery of young Ifakunle on August 20 in the Gbagi area of Ibadan.As the investigation expanded interstate, detectives travelled to Agbor, Delta State, on September 2, where four additional stolen children were rescued and two buyers—Christopher Joy and Rosemary Jesse—were taken into custody.
The police investigation also exposed a ritual dimension connected to the network.Suspects confessed that whenever an abducted child died while held in captivity, the deceased body was sold to ritualists. This revelation led to the immediate arrest of Muritala Fasasi, an Alfa, and Yakubu Azeez, a herbalist, both of whom are facing charges regarding the purchase and use of deceased children for ritual purposes. In total, police confirmed that six abducted children tragically lost their lives while in the syndicate’s custody, identifying the deceased minors as Musharaf Lawal Tajudeen, Greatness Adeagbo, Sainat Amoo, Taiwo Usman, Daniel Solomon Olayinka, and Miracle Olaniyi.
Oyo State Commissioner of Police Abimbola Olugbenga confirmed that a total of 17 living children have been rescued so far, ranging from a nine-day-old infant to seven-year-olds.The command has issued an urgent appeal to parents and guardians across the country who have lost children in recent months to visit the Police Command Headquarters in Eleyele, Ibadan, to identify the rescued children and facilitate family reunifications.Meanwhile, law enforcement agencies are continuing joint operations to track down remaining buyers, locate any other missing victims, and dismantle the entirety of the trafficking structure.
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