Many of the children rescued from abductors by the Oyo State Police Command have disclosed that it might be difficult, if not impossible, for them to remember where they hail from.
While noting that they were picked up by their abductors at different places, they called on police authorities to do everything humanly possible to locate their families.
The rescued children consist of 7 males and 10 females, aged 3 to 9 years.
The rescued children are Ifakunle Ifagenro (m), three years; Musibau Olasupo (m), five years; Sulaimon Osamo (m), seven years; Murina Fidaus (f), three years; Aminat Yusuf (m), three years; Taiwo Olamilekan (m), three years; Infant (m), nine days; Rafiat Waheed Babalola (f), two years; and Quwiyal Alade (f), five years.
Others are Rejoice Divine (f), three years; Alhaji Divine (m), five years; Eniolorunda (m), three years; Victoria (f), three years; Isoma Prince (f), three years; Roqeeba (f), four years; Boluwatife Odedeyi (f), three years; and Ireoluwa Elizabeth Olapade (f), seven years.
One of the suspects, Adejoke Popoola, the persons identified through the digital trail were also invited by the Police and, from their statements, admitted to having attended the masquerade festival and thereafter left with the missing child.
According to the police, her statement provided the first major breakthrough into the wider criminal network.
She disclosed that she had been involved in the stealing of more than 15 children between the ages of two and seven, from churches, parties and other event venues within and outside Oyo State.
She further disclosed one Adekanbi Janet, also known as Hosañna, as her partner in the business.
She was traced and arrested in Mowe, Ogun State, where four children between ages of two and four were rescued from custody, together with two pregnant young women.
In the course of the investigation, Adekanbi Janet, aka Hossana, also admitted knowing Adejoke for about 10 years of her involvement in the stealing and sale of children, although she denied having custody of Ifakunle.
She further revealed that some of the stolen children were kept in custody pending sale, while the pregnant young women would be cared for until delivery and subsequently provided clues on the whereabouts of Ifakunle, the missing child, which led to his rescue on 20 August 2026, around the Gbagi area, Ibadan.
On 2 September 2026, detectives also travelled to Agbor, Delta State, where four children stolen from Oyo State were rescued from their buyers.
And Rosemary Jesse, 53 years, who confessed to their involvement in the business, was also arrested.
This development confirmed the interstate dimension of the criminal network and established that children were being moved beyond Oyo State for purposes connected with the criminal enterprise.
She also confessed that if a child should die while in their custody, the body will be sold to ritualists, which led to the arrest of Muritala Fasasi (m), an Alfa and Yakubu Azees (m), an herbalist.
Both have confessed their involvement in using them for ritual purposes.
Meanwhile, the Oyo State Police Command has appealed to parents and guardians who have been searching for their missing children to visit the Command’s headquarters in Eleyele, Ibadan, to check and identify whether their children are among those rescued.
The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Ayanlade Olayinka, had on Wednesday urged parents and guardians whose missing children were not among the rescued victims to lodge formal complaints with the police and provide relevant information that could assist investigators in tracing their whereabouts.
The Command assured members of the public that the investigation was ongoing, with efforts being intensified to identify other persons allegedly connected to the trafficking network, recover more victims and ensure that anyone found culpable faces the law.
