by Willy Okonji-
The Ondo State Police Command has dismantled a child trafficking syndicate, arresting three suspects who confessed to selling stolen children for ₦500,000 each. The suspects were paraded before journalists at the police headquarters in Akure on Friday.
Among those apprehended were Lukman Isiaka, 43, Abosede Olanipekun, 23, and Sabira Izuorah, 68, a former director in the Anambra State Ministry of Women and Children Affairs. Police said they rescued 14 children, including infants as young as two weeks, stolen from Akure, Ondo State, and Ilesa, Osun State.
“I have a registered orphanage called Clarion Children’s Care and Reforms Initiatives, which started in 2020,” Izuorah said, claiming she ran a legitimate operation. “Lukman and his wife brought 11 children to me. I didn’t pay them directly, but adoptive parents provided food items and supplies.”
However, Lukman told a different story, admitting he and his wife had been abducting children since 2023 under Izuorah’s guidance. “She paid me ₦500,000 per child, which she resold for ₦1 million or more,” Lukman revealed. “We lured children with biscuits and soft drinks, then transported them to Anambra State.
Izuorah trained me in this trade after I met her while working as a bricklayer in her state.” Police Commissioner Wilfred Afolabi said the arrests followed a missing child report at Okuta Elerin-Nla Division in Akure.
“A complainant reported that her child went missing after being deceived by Abosede, who claimed she wanted to buy biscuits for the baby,” Afolabi explained. “Abosede’s husband, Lukman, distracted the complainant with a conversation and abandoned her at a market. Intelligence-led policing enabled us to trace the suspects to Edo State and later to Anambra, where we arrested Izuorah.”
Recovered children include Baby Favour (3 weeks), Baby Chidera (2 weeks), Baby Chinyere (2 months), and Baby Uzoma (1 week). Ten additional children sold by Izuorah were rescued from various locations, including Dauda Alarape (3½ years) and Ayomide Abass (2 years), among others.
The commissioner emphasized ongoing efforts to locate missing children and reunite them with their families. “This syndicate has caused untold trauma to families, and we are committed to dismantling such networks across the region,” Afolabi stated.
