The Oyo State Police Command has confirmed the death of six children who were taken by a suspected child-stealing and human trafficking ring while in captivity.
Channels TV adds that 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 concealing of children over state lines.
This was revealed by the Commissioner of Police, Oyo State, CP Abimbola Olugbenga, yesterday at a press briefing held at the Police State Headquarters, Eleyele, Ibadan.
He said the probe started with a petition dated July 29, 2026, filed by Adejoke Popoola, aka Orente Alagbo, of Sogade Area, Ariyo, Ibadan, over charges bordering on conspiracy, cyberbullying, threat to life and defamation of character.
The petition was then assigned to the Anti-Kidnapping Squad on August 3.
Olugbenga said police were investigating the conditions surrounding the petition when their attention was directed to the abduction of a three-year-old kid, Ifakunle Ifagbenro, during an annual masquerade celebration in Oyo Town on June 29.
The commissioner said the boy had gone with his father to his father-in-law’s family compound for the festival while Popoola had come two days earlier to be part of the preparations for the celebration.
“He (Popoola) volunteered to carry the child at the event and both of them disappeared from the venue,” he added.
This was reported afterward at the Atiba Police Divisional Headquarters, Oyo Town.
“Pictorial and video materials from the event showed Popoola carrying the missing child and digital trails and statements obtained from persons connected to the event further established that she was with the child around the time of his disappearance,” the police chief said.
Popoola was detained on August 4 and the commissioner said he confessed to attending the masquerade festival and then departing with the missing child.
Olugbenga said her confession was the first major breakthrough into what detectives found to be a wider criminal network.
The suspect said she was involved in the alleged stealing of no fewer than 15 children, aged between two and seven years, from churches, parties and other event sites within and beyond the Oyo State.
She also allegedly revealed one Adekanbi Janet, as Hosanna, as her accomplice in the alleged criminal business.
Police later tracked Adekanbi to Mowe, Ogun State, where they rescued four children aged between two and four years in custody and recovered two young pregnant mothers.
Commissioner for Women Affairs, Funke Popoola stated Adekanbi who was arrested in connection with the alleged stealing and sale of children, denied having custody of Ifakunle, saying she had known Popoola for almost 10 years.
He said Adekanbi further disclosed that some of the abducted children were held in custody until they were sold, while the pregnant women were supposedly cared for until birth.
Information she later gave detectives led to the whereabout of Ifakunle, who was rescued in the Gbagi neighbourhood of Ibadan on August 20.
The probe also went outside Oyo State.
Detectives were on September 2 in Agbor, Delta State, when four children reportedly abducted from Oyo State were rescued from their suspected buyers, Olugbenga added.
Two suspects, 48-year-old Christopher Joy and 53-year-old Rosemary Jesse, were detained and allegedly confessed to being involved in the operation.
He said the finding was a confirmation of the interstate nature of the criminal network and that minors were being relocated outside Oyo State as part of the suspected criminal operation.
The commissioner further claimed that the inquiry had found an alleged ceremonial aspect to the syndicate’s actions.
“One of the suspects confessed that whenever a child died in their custody, the body would be sold to ritualists,” he said.
The police said the confession led to the arrest of Muritala Fasasi, an Alfa and Yakubu Azeez, a herbalist, who they said admitted to their suspected involvement in utilising the remains for ritual purposes.
The development comes after a chilling testimony attributed to one of the main suspects, who reportedly told police she had stolen 13 children before her arrest.
In her testimony, the suspect, identified as Orente, said she would go to homes and if no one was there, she would kidnap a child.
Asked how much the children were sold for, she said between N500,000 and N600,000. She said she has been working with the business since October 2024.
The suspect reportedly told how to acquire the confidence of parents to take children from venues where traditional or spiritual activities were being held, including masquerade celebrations.
One account said she told parents of disabled children she could heal them before snatching the children away.
The six children who died have been identified as Musharaf Lawal Tajudeen, two, Greatness Adeagbo, five, Sainat Amoo, two, Taiwo Usman, two, Daniel Solomon Olayinka, seven, and Miracle Olaniyi, four.
The command said the rescued children include the following: Three children of Ifakunle Ifagbenro, 17; five children of Musibau Olasupo, five; seven children of Sulaimon Osamo, seven; three children of Murina Fidaus, three; three children of Aminat Yusuf, three; three children of Taiwo Olamilekan, three; a nine-day-old infant; two children of Rafiat Waheed Babalola, two; five children of Quwiyat Alade, five; three children of Rejoice Divine, three; five children of Alhaji Divine, five; three children of Eniolorunda, three; three children of Victoria, three; three children of Isoma Prince, three; four children of Roqeeba, four; three children of Boluwatife Odedeyi, three; seven children of Ireoluwa Elizabeth Olapade, seven.
The commissioner advised parents and guardians whose children had been missing for a while to attend the Police Command Headquarters, Eleyele, Ibadan, to identify the rescued youngsters and reunite them with their families.
He said the Command was collaborating with other security and government agencies to unravel the complete structure of the suspected network, trace more missing children, ascertain the circumstances underlying the reported fatalities and ensure that anyone found accountable was brought to justice.
He also called on members of the public to be cautious and to report situations of missing children to the police immediately.
He also urged parents and guardians to be wary of anyone who claim to be traditional or spiritual healers, especially where such persons want to take children away from their families or want to take them to hidden places.
The commissioner also called to the public to contact the police if they had credible information that could assist the investigation, promising them that such information will be treated professionally and, if required, confidentially.
He underlined the command’s dedication to safeguarding children and other vulnerable persons, eliminating criminal networks and ensuring that justice was done within the parameters of the law.
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