Couple Arrested For Trafficking Children For ₦1 Million Each
Detectives from the Ondo State Police Command have apprehended a couple and an accomplice accused of operating a child-stealing and trafficking syndicate, selling children for ₦1 million each.
The suspects, identified as Lukman Isiaka, Abosede Olanipekun (a couple), and 65-year-old Madam Sabira Izuorah, were arrested following intelligence operations in Ottah village, Edo State, and Ihiala, Anambra State.
Ondo State Commissioner of Police, Wilfred Afolabi, disclosed that the syndicate had been operating for years, trafficking scores of children, including infants. Fourteen children were rescued during the operation, with some already identified and reunited with their families.
According to the police, the couple abducted children in Ondo and Osun states and sold them to Madam Izuorah in Anambra State for between ₦500,000 and ₦1 million per child.
The syndicate’s activities came to light after a mother reported her missing child at the Okuta Elerin-Nla Police Division in Akure. She recounted how the couple lured her away from her shop under the pretence of buying biscuits for her baby, only to disappear with the child.
Acting on this report, detectives tracked the suspects to Edo State, where they were arrested. Madam Izuorah was later apprehended in Ihiala, Anambra State, where several infants were found in her custody.
The rescued children include:
- Baby Favour (3 weeks old, female)
- Baby Chidera (2 weeks old, female)
- Baby Chinyere (2 months and 5 days old, female)
- Baby Uzoma (1 week old, male)
In addition, ten older children sold by the syndicate were recovered from various locations. Some have been identified, including Dauda Alarape (3½ years old, male), Babalola David (4 years old, male), and Asaolu Pamilerin (7 years old).
Commissioner Afolabi assured the public that the suspects would face prosecution after thorough investigations. “We are committed to bringing all culprits to justice and reuniting missing children with their families,” he said.
Efforts are ongoing to trace other missing children linked to the syndicate.
