A suspected child trafficker, Adejoke Popoola, has allegedly confessed to selling two sets of children she gave birth to and stealing other children for onward sale as police intensify investigations into a suspected interstate child-trafficking network in Oyo State.
Popoola, who was paraded alongside other suspects at the Oyo State Police Command headquarters in Ibadan, allegedly told journalists that she had been involved in child stealing and trafficking since October 2024.
She claimed to have sold a newborn boy and a set of twins, saying the twins were sold to a clinic in Ogeere for N300,000.
According to her, she sometimes received between N80,000 and N120,000 for each child sold.
“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, who said she had seven children of her own, explained that she resorted to selling babies whenever the men responsible for her pregnancies rejected them.
She said, “I have sold two sets of children, a newborn boy and twins as well, last year. I sold the twins to a 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.”
The suspect also admitted to stealing children, allegedly using different methods to gain access to homes and unsuspecting parents.
She said she sometimes posed as a prospective tenant looking for accommodation and would seize the opportunity to take 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.
Popoola claimed that a woman she worked with at Ogeere Market introduced her to the practice of stealing children.
She further alleged that she sometimes disguised herself as a spiritualist to target parents of children living with disabilities.
According to her, she would promise such parents that she could cure their children before allegedly taking another child to them.
“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.
Popoola said she combined the alleged activities with the sale of herbs at Ariyo Bus Stop, Olunloyo, in Ibadan.
She also narrated how she allegedly abducted three-year-old Ifakunle Ifagbenro during an Egungun festival in Oyo Town.
According to her, she travelled to the venue after asking a commercial motorcyclist to take her to the house where the festival was being held.
She said she joined the prayers after arriving and even contributed money before the masquerade procession began.
Popoola claimed that when the child told his mother he wanted to join the procession, she volunteered to help look after him.
