Six children abducted by a suspected child-stealing and human trafficking syndicate have reportedly died while in captivity, according to the Oyo State Police Command.
The Oyo State Commissioner of Police, CP Abimbola Olugbenga, disclosed this during a press briefing at the Police State Headquarters in Eleyele, Ibadan, on Monday, September 7.
Olugbenga said 17 children had been rescued while seven suspects were arrested following an intelligence-led investigation into a criminal network allegedly involved in the stealing, trafficking and concealment of children across state borders.
According to the commissioner, the investigation began following a petition dated July 29, 2026, submitted by Adejoke Popoola, also known as Orente Alagbo, of the Sogade Area, Ariyo, Ibadan. The petition contained allegations bordering on conspiracy, cyberbullying, threat to life and defamation of character.
Olugbenga said while detectives were investigating the petition, they were alerted 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 boy had accompanied his father to his father-in-law’s family compound for the festival, while Popoola had arrived two days earlier to assist with preparations for the event.
He said Popoola later offered to carry the child during the festival, after which she and the boy disappeared from the venue. The incident was subsequently reported at the Atiba Police Divisional Headquarters in Oyo Town.
According to the police, photographs and video footage from the event showed Popoola carrying the missing child, while digital evidence 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 Olugbenga, admitted attending the festival and subsequently leaving with the child.
The commissioner said her statement provided the first major breakthrough in the investigation, which eventually uncovered what detectives described as a wider criminal network.
Olugbenga said Popoola allegedly admitted to being involved in the abduction of more than 15 children, aged between two and seven years, from churches, parties and other event venues within and outside Oyo State.
She reportedly identified one Adekanbi Janet, also 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.
Olugbenga said Adekanbi also disclosed 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 during the investigation subsequently led detectives to the location of Ifakunle, who was rescued around the Gbagi area of Ibadan on August 20.
The police chief added that 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 operation.
Olugbenga said the development confirmed the interstate nature of the alleged syndicate and indicated that children were being moved outside Oyo State as part of the operation.
The investigation also uncovered an alleged ritual dimension to the syndicate’s activities, according to the commissioner.
He said one of the suspects allegedly confessed that whenever a child died while in their custody, the body was sold to suspected ritualists.
The disclosure reportedly led to the arrest of Muritala Fasasi, an Alfa, and Yakubu Azeez, a herbalist, who police said confessed to alleged involvement in using the bodies for ritual purposes.
The investigation also produced a disturbing account allegedly given by one of the principal suspects, identified as Orente, who reportedly told detectives that she had stolen 13 children before her arrest.
According to the account, she allegedly visited homes and took children whenever she found no one around.
She reportedly told investigators that the children were sold for between N500,000 and N600,000 each and claimed she had been involved in the operation since October 2024.
The suspect also allegedly explained how children could be abducted from locations where traditional or spiritual activities were taking place, including masquerade festivals, by gaining the trust of their parents.
In one account, she reportedly claimed that she would approach parents of children living with disabilities and promise to help cure them before allegedly taking the children away.
The six children confirmed dead were identified as Musharaf Lawal Tajudeen, 2; Greatness Adeagbo, 5; Sainat Amoo, 2; Taiwo Usman, 2; Daniel Solomon Olayinka, 7; and Miracle Olaniyi, 4.
The 17 rescued children were identified as Ifakunle Ifagbenro, 3; Musibau Olasupo, 5; Sulaimon Osamo, 7; Murina Fidaus, 3; Aminat Yusuf, 3; Taiwo Olamilekan, 3; a nine-day-old male infant; Rafiat Waheed Babalola, 2; Quwiyat Alade, 5; Rejoice Divine, 3; Alhaji Divine, 5; Eniolorunda, 3; Victoria, 3; Isoma Prince, 3; Roqeeba, 4; Boluwatife Odedeyi, 3; and Ireoluwa Elizabeth Olapade, 7.
The police commissioner appealed to parents and guardians whose children have gone missing in recent times to visit the Police Command Headquarters in Eleyele, Ibadan, to identify the rescued children and facilitate their reunification with their families.
