Oyo Police Bust Interstate Baby-Selling Ring, Rescue 17 Children and Pregnant Women After Masquerade Festival Abduction
Ibadan — The Oyo State Police Command has dismantled an interstate child-trafficking syndicate and rescued 17 children, alongside several pregnant women, after an investigation into the disappearance of a three-year-old boy during a masquerade festival uncovered a much wider criminal network spanning Oyo, Ogun, and Delta states.
According to a statement by Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Anietie Iniedu, the case began with a petition filed on July 29, 2026, by a woman named Adejoke Popoola, also known as Orente Alagbo, alleging conspiracy, cyberbullying, threats to her life, and defamation of character. While detectives assigned to the Anti-Kidnapping Squad examined the petition, their attention was drawn to a separate case: the disappearance of three-year-old Ifakunle Ifagbenro, who had gone missing during an annual masquerade festival in Oyo town on June 29, 2026. According to police, the boy had accompanied his father to a family compound for the festival, where Popoola, who had arrived days earlier, was also present.
Following extensive investigation, detectives arrested Popoola on August 4, 2026. Upon her arrest, she reportedly admitted to attending the festival and leaving with the missing child, a disclosure police described as the first major breakthrough in the case. She further reportedly disclosed her involvement in the stealing, movement, and sale of more than 15 children, aged between two and seven, taken from churches, parties, and other event venues within and outside Oyo State. She also identified an alleged accomplice, Janet Adekanbi, also known as Hosanna, with whom police say she had worked for roughly a decade.
Detectives traced Adekanbi to Mowe in Ogun State, where she was arrested. Four children aged between two and four, along with two pregnant young women, were rescued from her custody. Adekanbi reportedly confirmed knowing Popoola for about ten years and acknowledged awareness of her alleged trafficking activities, although she initially denied holding the missing boy, Ifakunle. Further information obtained during interrogation eventually led detectives to Ifakunle’s whereabouts, and he was rescued in the Gbagi area of Ibadan on August 20, 2026.
Investigators say the syndicate operated multiple holding facilities across Oyo, Ogun, and Delta states, used both to keep stolen children pending sale and to house pregnant women until they gave birth. The investigation subsequently extended to Agbor in Delta State, where police recovered four additional children believed to have been trafficked from Oyo. In total, 17 children were rescued across the operation, though police disclosed that six children had reportedly died while in the syndicate’s captivity. Two traditional herbalists, identified as Muritala Fasasi and Yakubu Azeez, were also arrested in connection with the case. In total, seven suspects have been named by police: Popoola, Adekanbi, Christopher Joy, Rosemary Jesse, Fasasi, Azeez, and Ismaila Alabede.
Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, commended the Oyo State Command for the breakthrough and directed that investigations continue to fully dismantle the network, locate any remaining missing children, and ensure that all those found culpable face prosecution. The Oyo State Police Command has appealed to parents and guardians who have recently lost children to visit the command’s state headquarters in Eleyele, Ibadan, to help identify the rescued children and facilitate their reunification with relatives, while urging the public to report missing children promptly rather than delay.
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