A suspected member of an interstate child-stealing and trafficking network in Oyo State, Adejoke Popoola, has allegedly confessed to selling two sets of children she gave birth to and stealing other children for onward sale.
Popoola, also known as Orente Alagbo, made the claims while speaking to journalists at the Oyo State Police Command headquarters in Ibadan on Monday following her arrest in connection with a wider investigation into child trafficking.
She claimed to have sold a newborn boy and a set of twins, saying she received N300,000 for the twins from a clinic in Ogeere.
She also claimed that she sometimes received between N80,000 and N120,000 for other children she allegedly supplied.
Popoola said she had been involved in the alleged activities since October 2024 and claimed to have stolen 19 children.
According to her, six of the children allegedly died while in the custody of people involved in the network.
The claims came as the Oyo State Police Command announced the rescue of 17 children and the arrest of seven suspects following an intelligence-led investigation into a suspected child-stealing and trafficking network operating across Oyo, Ogun and Delta states.
The Commissioner of Police, Abimbola Olugbenga, said the investigation began with a petition dated July 29, 2026, submitted by Popoola herself over allegations including conspiracy, cyberbullying, threat to life and defamation.
Investigators later connected her to the disappearance of three-year-old Ifakunle Ifagbenro, who went missing during an annual masquerade festival in Oyo Town on June 29.
According to the police, photographs and video recordings from the event showed Popoola carrying the boy shortly before she allegedly disappeared with him.
She was arrested on August 4 and allegedly admitted leaving the festival with the child.
The police said Popoola’s statement subsequently opened the way for a wider investigation into the alleged stealing, movement and sale of children from churches, parties and other public gatherings.
She allegedly identified Adekanbi Janet, also known as Hosanna, as an accomplice.
Janet was traced to Mowe, Ogun State, where police said four children aged between two and four and two pregnant young women were rescued.
The police said some stolen children were allegedly kept in custody pending their sale, while the pregnant women were allegedly accommodated until they gave birth.
Detectives later travelled to Agbor, Delta State, where four children allegedly stolen from Oyo were rescued. Two suspected buyers, identified as Christopher Joy, 48, and Rosemary Jesse, 53, were arrested.
The investigation also took a darker turn after police said information obtained from suspects pointed to an alleged ritual dimension.
The Commissioner said detectives arrested Muritala Fasasi, described as an Alfa, and Yakubu Azeez, a herbalist, following allegations that bodies of children who died in captivity were sold to suspected ritualists.
Police said six children died while in the custody of their alleged abductors.
They were identified as Musharaf Lawal Tajudeen, Greatness Adeagbo, Sainat Amoo, Taiwo Usman, Daniel Solomon Olayinka and Miracle Olaniyi.
Popoola also alleged that she sometimes posed as a prospective tenant to gain access to homes before stealing children when their parents were absent.
She claimed to have posed as a spiritualist on other occasions, targeting parents seeking help for children living with disabilities.
The police have urged parents and guardians who recently lost children to visit the command headquarters in Eleyele, Ibadan, to identify the rescued children and facilitate their reunification with their families.
The investigation is continuing as detectives work to establish the full extent of the alleged interstate trafficking network and identify other persons connected to it.
