‘I Sold Four Of My Children’ — Suspected Child Trafficker Reveals How She Joined Syndicate.

 

A suspected member of a child-stealing and human trafficking syndicate, Adejoke Popoola, has allegedly confessed to selling four of her own biological children before becoming involved in abducting other children for sale.

Popoola made the disclosure while she was paraded alongside her alleged accomplices at the Oyo State Police Command headquarters in Eleyele, Ibadan, on Monday, September 7.

According to the suspect, her involvement in child trafficking began in October 2024, after which she and other members of the alleged syndicate reportedly abducted and sold several children, including a newborn and a set of twins.

Popoola claimed she had seven children of her own and said some of them were already married.

“God blessed me with the gift of pregnancy. Anytime a man has sex 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.

She further claimed that a woman she met while working at Ogeere Market introduced her to the child trafficking business.

Popoola alleged that she sometimes disguised herself as a spiritualist and targeted parents whose children were living with 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 that I can help them to heal, then I will go and pick another person’s child for them,” she said.

She also recounted how she allegedly abducted a three-year-old boy, identified as Ifakunle Ifagbenro, during an Egungun festival in Oyo town.

According to her account, she went to the festival, joined a family during prayers and later volunteered to help carry the boy when he wanted to join the procession.

“When the Egungun left, the boy told his mother that he did not want to stay at home and wanted to join the procession. So, I volunteered to help hold the boy.

“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 also claimed that six of the 19 children she allegedly kidnapped had died, while 13 were still alive.

“About six children died from the 19 children I have kidnapped, but 13 are alive,” she said.

The claims were made during the police parade as investigations into the alleged trafficking network continue.