Six children abducted by a suspected child-stealing and human trafficking syndicate have been confirmed dead while in captivity, the Oyo State Police Command has disclosed.
The command also announced the rescue of 17 children and the arrest of seven suspects following an intelligence-led investigation into a criminal network allegedly involved in the stealing, trafficking and concealment of children across state lines.
The Oyo State Commissioner of Police, CP Abimbola Olugbenga, disclosed this at a press briefing at the command’s headquarters in Eleyele, Ibadan, on Monday.
According to Olugbenga, the investigation began with a petition dated July 29, 2026, submitted by Adejoke Popoola, also known as Orente Alagbo, of Sogade Area, Ariyo, Ibadan, alleging conspiracy, cyberbullying, threat to life and defamation of character.
The petition was assigned to the Anti-Kidnapping Squad on August 3.
However, while detectives were examining the allegations, their attention was drawn to the disappearance of a three-year-old boy, Ifakunle Ifagbenro, during an annual masquerade festival in Oyo Town on June 29.
The commissioner said the child had accompanied his father to his father-in-law’s family compound for the festival, while Popoola had arrived two days earlier to participate in preparations for the event.
According to him, Popoola offered to carry the child during the festival, after which she and the boy disappeared from the venue. The matter was subsequently reported at the Atiba Police Divisional Headquarters in Oyo Town.
Olugbenga said pictorial and video evidence from the event showed Popoola carrying the missing child, while digital trails and statements from people connected to the event further established that she was with the boy around the time of his disappearance.
Popoola was arrested on August 4 and, according to the commissioner, admitted attending the masquerade festival and subsequently leaving with the child.
Her statement, he said, provided the first major breakthrough in an investigation that uncovered a wider criminal network.
The suspect allegedly told investigators that she had participated 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.
She also reportedly identified Adekanbi Janet, popularly known as Hosanna, as an alleged accomplice.
Adekanbi was subsequently traced to Mowe, Ogun State, where police rescued four children aged between two and four years from her custody and recovered two pregnant young women.
According to the commissioner, Adekanbi admitted knowing Popoola for about 10 years in connection with the alleged stealing and sale of children, although she denied having custody of Ifakunle.
She reportedly told investigators that some of the stolen children were kept in custody pending their sale, while the pregnant women were allegedly cared for until they gave birth.
Information obtained from Adekanbi subsequently led detectives to the location of Ifakunle, who was rescued around the Gbagi area of Ibadan on August 20.
The investigation later expanded beyond Oyo State.
Olugbenga said detectives travelled to Agbor, Delta State, on September 2, where four children allegedly stolen from Oyo State were rescued from suspected buyers.
Two suspects, identified as 48-year-old Christopher Joy and 53-year-old Rosemary Jesse, were arrested and allegedly confessed to involvement in the criminal enterprise.
The commissioner said the development confirmed the interstate dimension of the suspected network, with children allegedly being moved outside Oyo State as part of the operation.
Alleged ritual dimension
The investigation also uncovered an alleged ritual dimension to the activities of the syndicate.
According to Olugbenga, one of the suspects confessed that whenever a child died while in their custody, the body was allegedly sold to ritualists.
The disclosure reportedly led to the arrest of Muritala Fasasi, an Alfa, and Yakubu Azeez, a herbalist, whom the police accused of involvement in the alleged use of the bodies for ritual purposes.
The commissioner also disclosed a chilling account allegedly given by one of the principal suspects, who reportedly told investigators that she had stolen 13 children before her arrest.
In the statement, the suspect, nicknamed Orente, allegedly said she would visit homes and, whenever she found nobody around, take a child.
She reportedly told investigators that the children were sold for between N500,000 and N600,000 and claimed to have been involved in the business since October 2024.
The suspect also allegedly described how children could be taken from venues where traditional or spiritual activities were being held, including masquerade festivals, by first gaining the confidence of their parents.
In one account, she reportedly said she would approach parents of children with disabilities, claiming that she could help cure them before taking the children away.
The six children confirmed dead 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 17 rescued children were identified as Ifakunle Ifagbenro, three; Musibau Olasupo, five; Sulaimon Osamo, seven; Murina Fidaus, three; Aminat Yusuf, three; Taiwo Olamilekan, three; an infant male aged nine days; Rafiat Waheed Babalola, two; Quwiyat Alade, five; Rejoice Divine, three; Alhaji Divine, five; Eniolorunda, three; Victoria, three; Isoma Prince, three; Roqeeba, four; Boluwatife Odedeyi, three; and Ireoluwa Elizabeth Olapade, seven.
Olugbenga appealed to parents and guardians who had lost children in recent times to visit the Police Command Headquarters in Eleyele, Ibadan, to identify the rescued children and facilitate their reunification with their families.
He said the command was working with other security and government agencies to uncover the full structure of the suspected network, locate other missing children, establish the circumstances surrounding the reported deaths and ensure that anyone found culpable was brought to justice.
The commissioner urged members of the public to remain vigilant and report missing-child cases to the police without delay.
He also cautioned parents and guardians to exercise particular care when dealing with individuals who present themselves as traditional or spiritual healers, especially those who seek to separate children from their families or take them to undisclosed locations.
Olugbenga appealed to anyone 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 anyone found culpable is brought to justice in accordance with the law.
