A woman accused of belonging to a child-stealing and human trafficking group has made several disturbing claims after her arrest in Oyo State.
Police presented Adejoke Popoola and other suspects to journalists at the Oyo State Police Command headquarters in Eleyele, Ibadan, on Monday, September 7, 2026.
During the press briefing, Popoola claimed she had sold four of her biological children before she started abducting other children.
She said her alleged involvement in child trafficking began in October 2024.
Popoola claimed she and other members of the group abducted and sold several children, including a newborn and twins.
“God blessed me with the gift of pregnancy. Anytime a man has s#x with me, I get pregnant, I give birth to twins. I have sold the twins to one Oluwakemi clinic for N300, 000. She also resells them to her customers in Lagos. She has a baby industry. When the owner of the pregnancy rejects the pregnancy, that is when I sell. Sometimes I get N80,000 or N120,000 for each child I sell,” she said.
Popoola said she had given birth to seven children and that some of them were married.
She claimed a woman she met while working at Ogeere Market introduced her to child trafficking.
The suspect also said she sometimes posed as a spiritualist and approached parents whose children had disabilities.
“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 them that I can help them to to heal, then I will go and pick another person’s child for them,” she said.
Popoola also described how told journalists how she allegedly abducted a three-year-old boy named Ifakunle Ifagbenro during an Egungun festival in Oyo town.
She claimed she joined a prayer session at the festival before offering to carry the child during the procession.
“I joined them for the procession and, in the evening, I picked up the boy, laid him on my back and ran away with him,” she said.
Popoola claimed that she had kidnapped 19 children and that six had died.
“About six children d!ed from the 19 children I have kidnapped, but 13 are alive,” she said.
The figures and accusations came from Popoola’s recorded statement during the police presentation. The authorities have not publicly confirmed every detail of her claims.
The suspects have not been convicted. Police investigations are expected to determine the number of children involved and identify other suspected members of the alleged network.
