Ondo Police Arrest Couple and One Other for Child Theft, Recover 14 Children
By Abdulmajeed Abdullateef on NIGPOST – January 19, 2025
Operatives from the Ondo State Police Command have made a significant breakthrough by arresting a couple, Lukman Isiaka (43) and Abosede Olanipekun (23), for their involvement in child theft and trafficking.
The couple, alongside one other individual, Sabira Izuorah (62), have been implicated in a network that illegally trafficked children across states.
The police successfully rescued 14 children, ranging in age from just weeks to months old, who had been abducted from Akure, Ondo State, and Ilesa, Osun State.
These children were found at Izuorah’s ‘orphanage’ in Ihiala, Anambra State, where each child had reportedly been sold for N1 million.
Many of the children, who had been taken from their families, struggled to recognize their parents, as their names had been changed, and they now spoke Igbo.
While paraded at the police headquarters in Akure, Izuorah, who claimed to be a retired Director from the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs in Anambra, admitted to receiving the children from the couple.
She operates an orphanage, Clarion Children’s Care and Reforms Initiatives, which she established in 2020.
Izuorah explained that while she didn’t pay the couple, she received food items and supplies from the adoptive parents, and no money exchanged hands for the children directly.
She had stopped accepting children from the couple in November 2024, but later recovered the children from the adoptive parents.
Lukman, a bricklayer, confessed to his involvement in child trafficking since 2023, stating that Izuorah had introduced him and his wife to this illicit activity while they were in Anambra.
He revealed that Izuorah paid them N500,000 per child and resold them for up to N1 million.
According to the police, the couple used deceitful tactics, luring children with promises of soft drinks and biscuits before abducting them and taking them to Anambra to hand over to Izuorah.
The Commissioner of Police for Ondo State, Wilfred Afolabi, praised the operatives for their intelligence-led approach, which led to the successful arrests.
Lukman and Abosede were traced and arrested in Ottah village, Edo State. They later led police to Anambra, where Izuorah was apprehended.
The investigation is ongoing, and some children are still missing. The suspects are expected to face charges in court once the investigation is concluded.
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