Inside the interstate child-trafficking network Oyo police just uncovered
What began as a petition alleging cyberbullying and defamation has led Oyo State Police to uncover a child-stealing and trafficking network stretching across three states, the rescue of 17 children, and allegations that some victims who died in captivity were sold for ritual purposes.
How it started
The investigation traces back to a petition dated July 29, 2026, filed by a woman named Adejoke Popoola — also known as Orente Alagbo — over allegations of conspiracy, cyberbullying, threat to life, and defamation of character. The case was handed to the Anti-Kidnapping Squad on August 3.
As detectives dug into the petition, it connected to something far more serious: the disappearance of a three-year-old child, Ifakunle Ifagbenro, who had gone missing during a masquerade festival in Oyo town on June 29. According to the Commissioner of Police, Abimbola Olugbenga, photographic and video evidence from the event showed Popoola carrying the child shortly before he disappeared.
The arrest that opened the network
Popoola was arrested on August 4. She initially admitted to leaving the festival with Ifakunle — a statement Olugbenga described as the first major breakthrough into the wider network. She went on to disclose a far broader pattern: involvement in stealing more than 15 children, aged between two and seven, from churches, parties, and other event venues in and outside Oyo State.
She also named an alleged partner, Adekanbi Janet known as Hosanna, pointing detectives beyond Oyo’s borders for the first time.
Rescues in Ogun state
Janet was arrested in Mowe, Ogun State, where detectives rescued four children, aged two to four, along with two pregnant young women. According to the commissioner, Janet told detectives that stolen children were held in custody pending sale, while the pregnant women were being kept until they gave birth —suggesting the network’s reach extended beyond stealing existing children.
Janet’s statement also helped detectives locate Ifakunle, who was rescued in the Gbagi area of Ibadan on August 20 closing the loop on the case that had opened the investigation.
Following the trail to Delta state
On September 2, the investigation reached Agbor, Delta State, where detectives rescued four more children allegedly stolen from Oyo State from the people suspected of buying them. Two suspects, Christopher Joy, 48, and Rosemary Jesse, 53, were arrested in connection with the operation, confirming the network’s interstate scale.
The ritual allegations
The most disturbing thread to emerge from the investigation involves what allegedly happened to children who died while in the network’s custody. Police say suspects disclosed that when a child died, the body could be sold to ritualists. That claim led to the arrest of two more suspects both of whom have reportedly confessed to using victims for ritual purposes.
The Command says six children died while in the custody of their abductors: Musharaf Lawal Tajudeen, 2; Greatness Adeagbo, 5; Sainat Amoo, 2; Taiwo Usman, 2; Daniel Solomon Olayinka, 7; and Miracle Olaniyi, 4.
Where things stand
In total, the Oyo State Police Command says 17 children have been rescued and seven suspects arrested : Popoola, Janet, Joy, Jesse, Fasasi, Azeez, and a seventh suspect, Ismaila Alabede. The investigation is ongoing, with the Command saying it is working with other security and government agencies to map the network’s full structure, locate any remaining missing children, and establish the circumstances surrounding the six reported deaths.
Police have urged parents and guardians whose children have gone missing to visit the Command Headquarters at Eleyele, Ibadan, to help identify the rescued children and support their reunification with their families.
