A suspected member of a child-stealing and trafficking syndicate, Adejoke Popoola, has allegedly confessed to stealing 19 children and selling babies, while claiming that six of the abducted children died in the custody of members of the syndicate.
Popoola made the startling disclosure on Monday while speaking with journalists at the Oyo State Police Command headquarters in Ibadan.
She claimed to have been involved in child trafficking since October 2024, admitting that she sold two sets of children she gave birth to — a newborn boy and a set of twins.
According to her, the twins were sold to a clinic in Ogeere for N300,000, while she sometimes received between N80,000 and N120,000 for individual children.
“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 — last year. I sold the twins to a clinic in Ogeere. The clinic gave me N300,000 for the twins,” she said.
Popoola, who said she had seven children of her own, claimed that some of them were already married.
She also allegedly admitted to stealing children by posing as a prospective tenant and visiting homes under the guise of looking for accommodation.
“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.
The suspect further claimed that a woman she worked with at Ogeere Market taught her how to steal children.
She also alleged that she sometimes disguised herself as a spiritualist to gain access to vulnerable families, particularly parents of 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 claimed.
Popoola also recounted how she allegedly abducted a three-year-old boy, Ifakunle Ifagbenro, during an Egungun festival in Oyo Town.
She said she travelled to the venue early in the day and joined prayers at the residence where the festival was being held.
According to her, she later volunteered to carry the boy during the masquerade procession after the child told his mother that he wanted to join the procession.
She claimed that after following the procession, she placed the child on her back and fled with him.
Popoola alleged that six of the 19 children she had kidnapped had died, while 13 remained alive.
“About six children died from the 19 children I have kidnapped, but 13 are alive,” she said.
The police said the suspect’s alleged confession formed part of a wider investigation that has exposed an interstate child-stealing and trafficking network.
The Oyo State Commissioner of Police, Abimbola Olugbenga, said the command had rescued 17 children and arrested seven suspects in connection with the investigation.
Olugbenga disclosed this on Monday during a press briefing at the command headquarters in Eleyele, Ibadan.
According to him, the investigation began after a petition dated July 29, 2026, submitted by Popoola, also known as Orente Alagbo, from the Sogade area of Ariyo, Ibadan.
The Commissioner said detectives were subsequently drawn to the disappearance of three-year-old Ifakunle during an annual masquerade festival in Oyo Town on June 29.
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 he disappeared.
Olugbenga said Popoola was arrested on August 4 and allegedly admitted attending the festival and leaving the venue with the missing child.
He said the suspect subsequently provided information that led detectives to uncover her alleged involvement in the disappearance of more than 15 children, reportedly aged between two and seven, from churches, parties and other event venues in Oyo State and beyond.
According to the CP, Popoola also identified Adekanbi Janet, popularly known as Hosanna, as an alleged accomplice.
Janet was subsequently traced to Mowe, Ogun State, where police reportedly rescued four children aged between two and four, as well as two pregnant young women allegedly being held in her custody.
The police said Janet allegedly disclosed that stolen children were sometimes kept until buyers were found, while pregnant women were allegedly kept until they gave birth.
Information obtained from her, according to Olugbenga, also helped detectives locate and rescue Ifakunle around the Gbagi area of Ibadan on August 20.
The Commissioner further disclosed that detectives travelled to Agbor, Delta State, on September 2, where four children allegedly stolen from Oyo State were rescued from persons suspected of having purchased them.
Two suspects, Christopher Joy, 48, and Rosemary Jesse, 53, were arrested during the operation, he said.
Olugbenga said the arrests confirmed the interstate nature of the alleged trafficking network.
He added that the investigation had also uncovered an alleged ritual dimension to the criminal operation, with suspects reportedly claiming that some children who died in their custody were sold to suspected ritualists.
The development led to the arrest of two additional suspects identified as Muritala Fasasi, an Alfa, and Yakubu Azeez, a herbalist, according to the police.
The Commissioner said six children had reportedly died while in the custody of their alleged abductors.
The deceased 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 boss urged parents and guardians whose children had gone missing recently to visit the command headquarters in Eleyele, Ibadan, to identify the rescued children and assist the authorities in reuniting them with their families.
