We Can’t Remember Where We Came From, 17 Oyo Rescued Children Say

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.

The state’s Commissioner of Police, Abimbola Olugbenga, while addressing newsmen in Ibadan, said the investigation began with a petition over alleged conspiracy, cyberbullying, threat to life and defamation of character, which reportedly opened the door to a much bigger criminal operation involving the alleged abduction, sale and concealment of children.

According to him, the investigation took a dramatic turn when detectives discovered the disappearance of three-year-old Ifakunle Ifagbenro during a masquerade festival in Oyo town on 29 June.

He said evidence from the event placed Adejoke Popoola, popularly known as Orente Alagbo, with the child shortly before both disappeared.

He said Popoola was arrested on 4 August and allegedly confessed to stealing more than 15 children between the ages of two and seven from churches, parties and other public gatherings.

He added that her alleged associate, Adekanbi Janet, also known as Hosanna, was subsequently arrested in Mowe, Ogun State. Four children and two pregnant young women were reportedly found in her custody.

“Investigators later traced the missing Ifakunle to the Gbagi area of Ibadan, where he was rescued on 20 August.

“The trail then extended to Agbor in Delta State. On 2 September, detectives rescued four children allegedly stolen from Oyo State and arrested two alleged buyers, Christopher Joy, 48, and Rosemary Jesse, 53.

The petition was subsequently assigned to the Anti-Kidnapping Squad on 3 August”, the police boss said.

Olugbenga said that while detectives were examining the circumstances surrounding the petition, their attention was drawn to the disappearance of a three-year-old boy, Ifakunle Ifagbenro, during an annual masquerade festival in Oyo Town on 29 June.

The commissioner said the child had accompanied his father to his father-in-law’s family compound for the festival, while Popoola had arrived two days earlier to participate in preparations for the event.

He said Popoola offered to carry the child during the event, after which they both disappeared from the venue.

The matter was subsequently reported to the Atiba Police Divisional Headquarters in Oyo town.

According to the police chief, pictorial and video materials from the event showed Popoola carrying the missing child, while digital trails and statements obtained from persons connected to the event further established that she was with the child around the time of his disappearance.

He added that information obtained from her subsequently led detectives to Ifakunle, who was rescued in the Gbagi area of Ibadan on 20 August.

He said two suspects, identified as 48-year-old Christopher Joy and 53-year-old Rosemary Jesse, were arrested and allegedly confessed to involvement in the business.

The development, he said, confirmed the interstate dimension of the criminal network and showed that children were being moved outside Oyo State as part of the alleged criminal enterprise.

The commissioner further disclosed that the investigation uncovered an alleged ritual dimension to the syndicate’s activities.

According to him, one of the suspects confessed that whenever a child died while in their custody, the body would allegedly be sold to ritualists.

The commissioner further disclosed that the investigation uncovered an alleged ritual dimension to the syndicate’s activities.

According to him, one of the suspects confessed that whenever a child died while in their custody, the body would allegedly be sold to ritualists.

Asked how much the children were sold for, she mentioned amounts ranging from N500,000 to N600,000. She also claimed to have operated in the business since October 2024.

The suspect allegedly described how children could be taken from places where traditional or spiritual activities were being held, including masquerade festivals, by gaining the confidence of parents.

In one account, she reportedly said she would tell parents of children with disabilities that she could help heal them before taking the children away.

The six deceased children were identified as Musharaf Lawal Tajudeen, two; Greatness Adeagbo, five; Sainat Amoo, two; Taiwo Usman, two; Daniel Solomon Olayinka, seven; and Miracle Olaniyi, four.

He particularly cautioned parents and guardians to exercise care when dealing with individuals who present themselves as traditional or spiritual healers, especially where such persons seek to separate children from their families or take them to undisclosed locations.

The commissioner also appealed to members of the public with credible information that could assist the investigation to contact the police, assuring that such information would be handled professionally and, where necessary, confidentially.

He reaffirmed the command’s commitment to protecting children and other vulnerable persons, dismantling criminal networks and ensuring that justice was served in accordance with the law.