A suspected member of a child-stealing and trafficking network in Oyo State, Adejoke Popoola, has allegedly confessed to selling two sets of children she gave birth to and kidnapping other children for onward sale.
Popoola, who spoke to journalists at the Oyo State Police Command headquarters in Ibadan on Monday, claimed she had been involved in child trafficking since October 2024.
She said she sold a newborn boy and a set of twins, with the twins allegedly 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,” she said.
Popoola claimed she received between N80,000 and N120,000 for some of the children she sold, depending on the circumstances.
“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,” she alleged.
“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.
The suspect said she had seven biological children, some of whom were already 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.
Popoola also allegedly admitted to stealing children, describing how she would pose as a prospective tenant to gain access to homes before taking children when their parents were away.
“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.
She claimed a woman she worked with at Ogeere Market introduced her to the practice.
Popoola further alleged that she sometimes disguised herself as a spiritualist to gain access to vulnerable families, particularly parents whose children were 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 her, she combined the alleged criminal activities with the sale of herbs at Ariyo Bus Stop, Olunloyo.
She also recounted how she allegedly abducted a three-year-old boy, Ifakunle Ifagbenro, during an Egungun festival in Oyo Town.
Popoola said she travelled to the venue early in the day, joined prayers at the child’s home and later volunteered to carry the boy during the procession.
“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,” she said.
“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.”
Popoola claimed that six of the 19 children she allegedly 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 alleged confession forms part of a wider investigation by the Oyo State Police Command into a suspected interstate child-stealing and trafficking syndicate.
The Commissioner of Police, Abimbola Olugbenga, said the investigation, which began after a petition, led detectives to uncover a wider network allegedly involved in the stealing, transportation, sale and concealment of children.
The command said it had so far rescued 17 children and arrested seven suspects in connection with the investigation.
Olugbenga said the probe was initially linked to the disappearance of Ifakunle during an annual masquerade festival in Oyo Town on June 29, 2026.
According to the police, Popoola had offered to carry the boy during the event and subsequently left the venue with him. Photographs and video recordings from the festival allegedly showed her carrying the child.
She was arrested on August 4 and allegedly admitted to attending the festival and leaving with Ifakunle, according to the police.
The CP said her statement became a major breakthrough in the investigation, with detectives alleging that she disclosed her involvement in the disappearance of more than 15 children, aged between two and seven, from churches, parties and other social events within and outside Oyo State.
Police said Popoola subsequently identified Adekanbi Janet, also known as Hosanna, as an alleged accomplice.
Janet was traced to Mowe, Ogun State, where police said four children aged between two and four and two pregnant women were rescued from her custody.
According to Olugbenga, Janet allegedly told investigators that some stolen children were kept until buyers were found, while the pregnant women were allegedly kept in custody until they delivered their babies.
Information obtained from her allegedly helped detectives locate Ifakunle around the Gbagi area of Ibadan, where he was rescued on August 20.
The investigation subsequently extended to Agbor, Delta State, where police said four children allegedly stolen from Oyo State were recovered on September 2.
Two suspects, Christopher Joy, 48, and Rosemary Jesse, 53, were arrested during the operation, according to the police.
Olugbenga said the investigation had established the interstate nature of the suspected trafficking operation and also uncovered allegations of ritual activities involving children who died while in the suspects’ custody.
He said detectives arrested Muritala Fasasi, an Alfa, and Yakubu Azeez, a herbalist, after suspects allegedly disclosed that the bodies of children who died in their custody were sold to suspected ritualists.
The six children reported dead were identified by the police as Musharaf Lawal Tajudeen, two; Greatness Adeagbo, five; Sainat Amoo, two; Taiwo Usman, two; Daniel Solomon Olayinka, seven; and Miracle Olaniyi, four.
The police commissioner appealed to parents and guardians whose children had gone missing to visit the command headquarters in Eleyele, Ibadan, to identify the rescued children and facilitate their reunification with their families.
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