According to Fusion Chronicle Newspaper, Operatives from the Ondo State Police Command have arrested members of a child trafficking syndicate, who have confessed to selling stolen children at a rate of N500,000 each. The suspects, identified as 43-year-old Lukman Isiaka, 23-year-old Abosede Olanipekun, and 68-year-old Mrs. Sabira Izuorah, were apprehended while in possession of 14 children, including babies and toddlers stolen from Akure, Ondo State, and Ilesa, Osun State. The children were found in the custody of Izuorah, who claimed to run an orphanage in Ihiala, Anambra State.
The authorities recovered the children from Izuorah, with the youngest being as young as three weeks old. Among the recovered children were several infants, including two-week-olds, two-month-olds, and ten other children. The police believe the children were being trafficked for illegal adoption or other purposes. The operation has shed light on the scale of the trafficking network operating across states.
Izuorah, a former Director at the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs in Anambra State, admitted to receiving the children from Isiaka and Olanipekun. She reportedly paid the suspects N500,000 for each child, a price that she then used to resell them to other buyers for N1 million or more. According to Isiaka, Izuorah had been a key figure in the network, having trained him in the trafficking operation after he met her during a work trip to Anambra. Isiaka, a bricklayer, revealed that he had been providing children to Izuorah since their initial meeting.
The arrests have brought attention to the criminal activity occurring under the guise of orphanages and child welfare organizations. The authorities are now investigating the full extent of Izuorah’s operations and her connections to other potential members of the trafficking syndicate. While Izuorah claimed to run an orphanage, her involvement in the illegal trafficking of children raises questions about the legitimacy of her operations and the possible exploitation of vulnerable children under her care.
The arrested suspects face charges related to court.
