The Parade and Initial Confession

Adejoke Popoola, a suspected member of a child-stealing and trafficking syndicate, made a series of disturbing disclosures on Monday, September 7, while being paraded at the Oyo State Police Command headquarters in Ibadan. Popoola’s account detailed an alleged transition from selling her own children to targeting vulnerable families to steal their offspring for financial gain.

According to the suspect, she entered the illicit trade in October 2024 after being introduced to child trafficking by a woman she worked with at Ogeere Market. Since that introduction, she claimed the enterprise expanded to include the systematic procurement and sale of minors across regional lines.

I have sold many children, including a newborn baby and a set of twins.

— Adejoke Popoola, Suspect, Child-Stealing Syndicate

Exploitation of Biological Children and Health Facilities

Popoola, who stated she has seven biological children, admitted to selling two sets of her own offspring before allegedly turning her attention to other families. She claimed to have sold her twins to a facility identified as Oluwakemi clinic for N300,000, alleging that the clinic owner then resells the children to customers in Lagos.

She further detailed the financial motivations and the circumstances behind the sales, noting that the rejection of a pregnancy by a partner often served as the catalyst for the transaction. Prices for other children varied, with the suspect claiming she received between N80,000 and N120,000 per child.

God blessed me with the gift of pregnancy. Anytime a man has s#x with me, I get pregnant. I gave birth to twins. I have sold the twins to one Oluwakemi clinic for N300,000. She also reselllls them to her customers in Lagos. She has a baby industry. When the owner of the pregnancy rejects the pregnancy, that is when I sellll. Sometimes I get N80,000 or N120,000 for each child I selllll.

— Adejoke Popoola, Suspect, Child-Stealing Syndicate

Methods of Deception and Abduction

Beyond the sale of her own children, Popoola reportedly developed a method of gaining access to families by posing as a spiritualist capable of healing children living with disabilities. She admitted to exploiting the desperation of parents whose children could not talk, sit, or walk, promising healing as a ruse to gain custody of the children or to find opportunities to steal others.

One documented case involved three-year-old Ifakunle Ifagbenro, whom Popoola allegedly abducted during an Egungun festival in Oyo Town. The suspect reportedly took advantage of the large crowds and movement associated with the traditional masquerade festival to separate the child from his guardians.

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.

— Adejoke Popoola, Suspect, Child-Stealing Syndicate

Scale of Operation and Missing Lives

The full extent of the syndicate's activities remains under investigation, but Popoola’s claims suggest a significant and tragic toll. She alleged that she had stolen a total of 13 children, though she noted that six of those children are no longer alive. This claim has introduced a darker dimension to the police investigation as authorities seek to verify the fate of the missing minors.

Investigators are now focused on tracing the current location of the surviving children, identifying the buyers, and uncovering the full network of the syndicate. Popoola remains in police custody, where her claims regarding the deaths of six children and the involvement of the Lagos-based "baby industry" will face further scrutiny. The case underscores the extreme vulnerabilities exploited by criminal networks targeting families in moments of desperation.