A suspected member of a child-stealing and trafficking syndicate in Oyo State, Adejoke Popoola, has confessed to selling two sets of children she gave birth to and allegedly stealing 19 other children for onward sale.
Popoola made the disclosure while speaking to journalists at the Oyo State Police Command headquarters in Ibadan on Monday. She said she became involved in the alleged activities in October 2024.
According to her, she sold a newborn boy and a set of twins, with the twins allegedly sold to a clinic in Ogeere for N300,000. She said she sometimes received between N80,000 and N120,000 for each child.
Popoola, who said she had seven children of her own, also admitted allegedly stealing children by pretending to be searching for a house to rent. She said she would enter homes when parents were absent and take children she found there.
She further claimed that another woman at Ogeere Market taught her how to steal children.
The suspect also alleged that she sometimes disguised herself as a spiritualist and targeted parents whose children had disabilities. She claimed she would promise to help such children recover before allegedly taking another child for them.
Popoola recounted how she allegedly stole three-year-old Ifakunle Ifagbenro during an Egungun festival in Oyo Town on June 29.
She said she volunteered to carry the boy during the procession before allegedly leaving the event with him and fleeing.
The Oyo State Commissioner of Police, Abimbola Olugbenga, said the investigation began after a petition dated July 29, 2026, but later exposed a wider network allegedly involved in the stealing, movement, sale and concealment of children.
The police said Popoola was arrested on August 4 and allegedly provided information that led investigators to other suspects and locations.
According to Olugbenga, the investigation led to the arrest of Adekanbi Janet, also known as Hosanna, in Mowe, Ogun State. Police allegedly rescued four children aged between two and four, as well as two pregnant young women, from her custody.
The police said information from the investigation also helped detectives locate and rescue Ifakunle around the Gbagi area of Ibadan on August 20.
On September 2, detectives reportedly travelled to Agbor, Delta State, where four children allegedly stolen from Oyo State were rescued from suspected buyers. Two suspects, Christopher Joy, 48, and Rosemary Jesse, 53, were arrested.
The police said the investigation also uncovered allegations that children who died while in the custody of the suspected traffickers were allegedly sold to suspected ritualists. Two suspects, identified as Muritala Fasasi, an Alfa, and Yakubu Azeez, a herbalist, were arrested in connection with the allegation.
Police said 17 children had so far been rescued, while six allegedly died while in the custody of their abductors.
The 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 police urged parents and guardians who have lost children recently to visit the command headquarters in Eleyele, Ibadan, to identify the rescued children and facilitate their reunification with their families.
