Oyo Police Uncover Child-Stealing, Trafficking Syndicate, Rescue 17 Children

…Seven suspects arrested as investigation exposes interstate network

The Oyo State Police Command has uncovered a suspected child-stealing and human trafficking syndicate operating across state lines, leading to the rescue of 17 children and the arrest of seven suspects.

The Commissioner of Police in the state, CP Abimbola Ayodeji Olugbenga, disclosed this on Monday during a press briefing held at the command headquarters, Eleyele, Ibadan.

Olugbenga said the breakthrough followed an intelligence-led investigation which began with a petition submitted to the command but later exposed a wider criminal network allegedly involved in the identification, abduction, movement, sale and concealment of children.

According to the police commissioner, the investigation commenced following a petition dated July 29, 2026, submitted by Adejoke Popoola, also known as Orente Alagbo, of Sogade Area, Ariyo, Ibadan.

He said the petition, which bordered on alleged conspiracy, cyberbullying, threat to life and defamation of character, was assigned to the Anti-Kidnapping Squad on August 3, 2026.

Olugbenga said detectives, while examining the circumstances surrounding the petition, discovered information relating to the disappearance of a three-year-old boy, Ifakunle Ifagbenro.

He explained that the child disappeared on June 29, 2026, after accompanying his father to an annual masquerade festival at his father-in-law’s family compound in Oyo Town.

The CP said Adejoke had arrived in Oyo two days before the festival to participate in preparations for the event and later offered to carry the child during the ceremony.

“Shortly afterwards, both Adejoke and the child disappeared from the venue. The matter was subsequently reported at Atiba Police Divisional Headquarters in Oyo Town,” the commissioner said.

He said detectives obtained pictorial and video materials from the event which showed Adejoke carrying the child on June 29.

According to him, people identified through the digital trail were invited for questioning, and their statements allegedly established that Adejoke was with the child around the time of his disappearance.

The police subsequently arrested Adejoke on August 4, 2026, at about 2:30pm.

Olugbenga said the suspect admitted attending the masquerade festival and subsequently leaving with the missing child.

The commissioner said Adejoke’s statement provided the first major breakthrough into what the police described as a wider criminal network.

He said the suspect allegedly disclosed that she had been involved in the stealing of more than 15 children aged between two and seven years from churches, parties and other event venues within and outside Oyo State.

According to the CP, Adejoke also identified one Adekanbi Janet, popularly known as Hosanna, as her alleged partner in the business.

He said detectives traced and arrested Adekanbi in Mowe, Ogun State, where four children aged between two and four years were rescued from her custody, alongside two pregnant young women.

The commissioner said Adekanbi, during interrogation, admitted knowing Adejoke for about 10 years and allegedly confirmed her involvement in the 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 pregnant young women were allegedly kept until they delivered their babies.

He said information provided during the investigation subsequently led detectives to the location of Ifakunle, who was rescued on August 20, 2026, around the Gbagi area of Ibadan.

The investigation, according to the police, later extended beyond Oyo State.

Olugbenga said detectives travelled to Agbor, Delta State, on September 2, 2026, where four children allegedly stolen from Oyo State were rescued from persons who had reportedly purchased them.

He said two suspects, identified as 48-year-old Christopher Joy and 53-year-old Rosemary Jesse, were arrested in connection with the development.

The commissioner said both suspects allegedly confessed to their involvement in the child-trafficking network.

He said the development confirmed the interstate dimension of the criminal operation and indicated that children were allegedly moved from Oyo State to other parts of the country for purposes connected with the criminal enterprise.

The CP also disclosed that the investigation had taken a darker turn following an allegation that children who died while in the custody of the suspects were allegedly sold to ritualists.

He said the revelation led to the arrest of two other suspects identified as Muritala Fasasi, an Islamic cleric, and Yakubu Azeez, a herbalist.

According to Olugbenga, both suspects allegedly confessed to their involvement in the use of human remains for ritual purposes.

The police commissioner said 17 children had so far been rescued from the suspected network.

The rescued children include three-year-old Ifakunle Ifagbenro; five-year-old Musibau Olasupo; seven-year-old Sulaimon Osamo; three-year-old Murina Fidaus; three-year-old Aminat Yusuf; three-year-old Taiwo Olamilekan; a nine-day-old male infant; two-year-old Rafiat Waheed Babalola; five-year-old Quwiyat Alade; three-year-old Rejoice Divine; five-year-old Alhaji Divine; three-year-old Eniolorunda; three-year-old Victoria; three-year-old Isoma Prince; four-year-old Roqeeba; three-year-old Boluwatife Odedeyi; and seven-year-old Ireoluwa Elizabeth Olapade.

The command, however, said six other children reportedly died while in the custody of their alleged abductors.

They were identified as two-year-old Musharaf Lawal Tajudeen; five-year-old Greatness Adeagbo; two-year-old Sainat Amoo; two-year-old Taiwo Usman; seven-year-old Daniel Solomon Olayinka; and four-year-old Miracle Olaniyi.

The CP called on parents and guardians whose children have gone missing in recent times to visit the Oyo State Police Command headquarters, Eleyele, Ibadan, to identify the rescued children and facilitate their reunification with their families.

He said the command was working with relevant security and government agencies to unravel the full structure of the suspected network, locate other missing children, establish the circumstances surrounding the reported deaths and ensure that all persons found culpable were prosecuted.

Olugbenga urged members of the public to remain vigilant and report cases of missing children to the police without delay.

He also advised parents and guardians to exercise caution when dealing with individuals who present themselves as traditional or spiritual healers, particularly where such persons seek to separate children from their families or take them to undisclosed locations.

The CP appealed to members of the public with credible information that could assist the investigation to contact the police, assuring that such information would be treated professionally and, where necessary, confidentially.

He reaffirmed the command’s commitment to protecting children and other vulnerable persons, dismantling criminal networks and ensuring that those found responsible were brought to justice in accordance with the law.