The Police Command in Oyo State has arrested seven suspects over alleged stealing and trafficking of children.
Seventeen children were rescued.
The Commissioner of Police in Oyo State, Mr Abimbola Olugbenga, disclosed this while parading the suspects at the command’s headquarters, Eleyele, on Monday in Ibadan.
Olugbenga said that the ages of the rescued victims were between two and seven years.
He said that a painstaking investigation conducted over a missing three-year-old child, Ifakunle Ifagbenro, on June 29, led to the arrest of the suspects.
Olugbenga said that the investigation into the incident uncovered a wide criminal network of the arrested suspects, which extended beyond Oyo State.
According to him, the investigation revealed a disturbing pattern involving the identification, movement, sale and possession of children, alongside other serious criminal activities.
“The child accompanied his father to the annual masquerade festival at his father-in-law’s family compound in Oyo Town, where Adejoke, one of the arrested suspects, also arrived two days before the festival to participate in the preparations for the event.
“During the event, she offered to carry the child. Shortly afterwards, both Adejoke and the child disappeared from the venue and the matter was reported at Atiba Police Divisional Headquarters in Oyo Town,” he said.
Olugbenga said investigation conducted by the command revealed that Adejoke was with the child around the time of his disappearance.
He said that Adejoke was arrested sometime in August, and admitted to have attended the masquerade festival and thereafter left with the missing child.
The police boss said Adejoke’s statement provided the first major breakthrough into the wider criminal network.
He said that the suspect 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.
The CP said that the arrested suspect later disclosed the name of one of her accomplices to be Janet, also known as Hosanna.
“She was traced and arrested in Mowe, Ogun State, where four children between ages of two and four were rescued from her custody, together with two pregnant young women.
“In the course of investigation, Janet a.k.a. 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.
“Janet further revealed that some of the stolen children were kept in custody pending sale, while the pregnant young women will be cared for until delivery,” Olugbenga.
The CP said that Adejoke subsequently provided clues to the whereabouts of Ifakunle, which led to his rescue on August 20 around Gbagi Area, Ibadan.
He said that the command’s operatives on September 2, travelled to Agbor, Delta State, where four children stolen from Oyo State were rescued from their buyers.
“One Christopher and Rosemary, who confessed to their involvement in the business were 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,” he said.
Olugbenga said that Adejoke further confessed that if a child died while in their custody, the body would be sold to ritualists and this led to the arrest of Fasasi, an Alfa and Azeez, a herbalist.
Olugbenga urged parents and guardians who have lost their children in recent times to visit the command headquarters, Eleyele, Ibadan, to identify the children rescued and facilitate their early reunification with their families.
Source: NAN
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