A suspected member of a child-stealing and trafficking syndicate, Adejoke Popoola, has explained how she allegedly sold two sets of children she gave birth to and stole other children for onward sale.
Popoola, who spoke to journalists on Monday at the Oyo State Police Command headquarters in Ibadan, said she had been involved in the activities since October 2024.
She claimed she sold a newborn baby and a set of twins, adding that the twins were sold to a clinic in Ogeere for N300,000.
“God blessed me with the gift of pregnancy. Anytime a man has sex with me twice, I get pregnant, and it is always difficult to abort.
“I have sold two sets of children, a newborn boy and twins as well, last year. I sold the twins to … clinic; she also resells them to her customers in Lagos. She has a baby industry. When the owner of the pregnancy rejects the pregnancy, that is when I sell. Sometimes I get N80,000 or N120,000 for each child I sell.
“The clinic in Ogeere gave me N300,000 for the twins,” she said.
Popoola said she had seven children of her own, adding that some of them were married.
“I gave birth to seven children. Some are married. My last child is six years old, while the eldest is 34 years old,” she said.
She also admitted stealing children, explaining that she would sometimes disguise herself as someone seeking to rent a house before taking children when their parents were not around.
“I steal babies. I will go to their place and say I want to rent a house. Then, if I do not see anyone, if I see their children, I will just steal their children,” she said.
Popoola said a woman she worked with at Ogeere Market taught her how to steal children.
She also claimed to have posed as a spiritualist and targeted parents with children living with disabilities.
“Sometimes, I disguise myself as a spiritualist. Parents bring their disabled children to me because they cannot talk, sit, or walk. So, I will promise them that I can help them to heal, then I will go and pick another person’s child for them,” she said.
According to Popoola, she had been involved in the alleged activities since October 2024 while also selling herbs at Ariyo Bus Stop, Olunloyo.
She further recounted how she allegedly stole a three-year-old boy, Ifakunle Ifagbenro, during an Egungun festival in Oyo Town.
“I went to an Egungun festival to steal a child, Ifakunle. I woke up early and asked a bike man to drive me to the place where they were holding the Egungun festival, so he drove me to the house.
“When I entered the house, they were praying, so I joined them and I even gave them money for the prayer.
“When the Egungun left, the boy told his mother that he did not want to stay at home and wanted to join the procession. So, I volunteered to help hold the boy.
“I joined them for the procession and, in the evening, I picked up the boy, laid him on my back and ran away with him,” she said.
Popoola claimed that six children had died out of the 19 children she had allegedly kidnapped.
“About six children died from the 19 children I have kidnapped, but 13 are alive,” she said.
PUNCH Online had reported that the Oyo State Police Command had uncovered a suspected child-stealing and trafficking syndicate operating across states, rescuing 17 children and arresting seven suspects in connection with the investigation.
The Commissioner of Police, Abimbola Olugbenga, disclosed this during a press briefing at the command headquarters in Eleyele, Ibadan, on Monday.
Olugbenga said the breakthrough followed an intelligence-led investigation that began with a petition but later exposed a wider criminal network allegedly involved in the stealing, movement, sale and concealment of children.
He said the investigation also uncovered allegations of other criminal activities, including the reported use of deceased children for ritual purposes.
The CP said the investigation began with a petition dated July 29, 2026, submitted by Popoola, also known as Orente Alagbo, of the Sogade area of Ariyo, Ibadan.
According to him, detectives were later drawn to the disappearance of Ifakunle, who reportedly went missing during an annual masquerade festival in Oyo Town on June 29.
Olugbenga said Popoola had offered to carry the child during the event and shortly afterwards disappeared from the venue with him.
He said photographs and video recordings from the event showed Popoola carrying the child, while further investigation established that she was with him around the time of his disappearance.
The CP said Popoola was arrested on August 4 and allegedly admitted attending the masquerade festival and leaving with the missing child.
He said her statement provided the first major breakthrough in the investigation, as she allegedly disclosed her involvement in the stealing of more than 15 children, aged between two and seven, from churches, parties and other event venues within and outside Oyo State.
According to Olugbenga, Popoola also identified Adekanbi Janet, also known as Hosanna, as her alleged partner.
Janet was subsequently traced to Mowe, Ogun State, where police allegedly rescued four children aged between two and four and two pregnant young women from her custody.
The CP said Janet allegedly disclosed that some stolen children were kept in custody pending their sale, while the pregnant women were cared for until they gave birth.
He said her information also provided detectives with clues that led to the rescue of Ifakunle around the Gbagi area of Ibadan on August 20.
Olugbenga further said detectives travelled to Agbor, Delta State, on September 2, where four children allegedly stolen from Oyo State were rescued from persons suspected to have bought them.
He said two suspects, identified as Christopher Joy, 48, and Rosemary Jesse, 53, were arrested in connection with the operation.
The CP said the development confirmed the interstate dimension of the suspected trafficking network and that the investigation also uncovered an alleged ritual dimension.
He said suspects allegedly disclosed that when a child died in their custody, the body would be sold to suspected ritualists, leading to the arrest of Muritala Fasasi, an Alfa, and Yakubu Azeez, a herbalist.
The police boss said the command had so far rescued 17 children, while six children reportedly died while in the custody of their alleged 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.
Olugbenga urged parents and guardians who had lost their children in recent times to visit the command headquarters in Eleyele, Ibadan, to identify the rescued children and facilitate their reunification with their families.
(Punch)
