How a Couple Kidnapped, Sold 11 Children for ₦1 Million Each Before Their Arrest in Ondo

Police in Ondo State have uncovered a shocking child trafficking ring involving a couple, Isiaka Lukman, 42, and his wife, Abosede, 23, who allegedly kidnapped and sold 11 children across Ondo and Osun States. The couple admitted to the crime, revealing they worked with a 62-year-old woman, Sabira Izuorah, in Ihiala, Anambra State, who received the stolen children and facilitated their sale.

Lukman, during a police parade at the state headquarters, described how they targeted young children playing alone. They would approach them with offers of sweets, biscuits, or a popular drink, Bobo, to gain their trust. Once the children followed them, they would quickly hire a motorcycle to take them to a motor park, where they would be transported to Anambra State. Lukman admitted that to keep the children from crying and attracting attention, they were kept busy with cartoons on his phone throughout the journey.

According to Lukman, he was introduced to the trafficking business by Mrs. Izuorah after working at her residence as a bricklayer. He alleged that she paid ₦500,000 per child and later sold them for ₦1 million each to unidentified buyers.

The police discovered the syndicate after a woman in Akure reported her missing child at the Okuta Elerin-Nla Division. She recounted how Lukman and Abosede, pretending to be siblings, entered her shop and interacted with her child. While Lukman distracted her with a conversation about purchasing a mobile phone at a nearby market, Abosede took the child under the guise of buying biscuits. By the time the mother returned, the child and the suspects had vanished.

Following an intelligence-led investigation, police tracked the couple to Ottah Village in Edo State, where they were arrested. They later confessed to abducting multiple children from Ondo and Osun States and selling them to Mrs. Izuorah.

Authorities arrested Mrs. Izuorah in Ihiala, where they found four infants in her custody: Baby Favour (3 weeks old), Baby Chidera (2 weeks old), Baby Chinyere (2 months and 5 days old), and Baby Uzoma (1 week old). Further investigations led to the rescue of 10 more children, aged between two and seven years, from various locations. Their parents have since identified them.

Despite her arrest, Mrs. Izuorah denied any wrongdoing, claiming she ran a registered orphanage, Clara Children’s Care and Reform Initiatives, which had been operational since 2020. She insisted that she never paid for the children and only took in those brought to her as abandoned cases, later arranging legal adoptions. She also claimed that needy parents provided financial settlements to the couple, a transaction she claimed not to be involved in.

Police dismissed her claims, stating that investigations revealed her facility was a front for child trafficking. Authorities are continuing efforts to locate and rescue more missing children, while the suspects await prosecution.