How a Masquerade Festival Disappearance Exposed Oyo’s Alleged Child-Trafficking Network
A three-year-old boy’s disappearance at a masquerade festival has helped expose an alleged Oyo child trafficking network that police say operated across Oyo, Ogun and Delta states.
The boy, Ifakunle Ifagbenro, disappeared during an annual masquerade festival in Oyo town on June 29. What followed was an investigation that eventually led police to 17 rescued children and seven suspects.
According to the Oyo State Police Command, evidence from the festival became a major breakthrough in tracing the child and uncovering the wider network.
How the masquerade festival led to the Oyo child trafficking investigation
Ifakunle attended the festival with his father at his father-in-law’s family compound in Oyo town.
Police said Adejoke Popoola, also known as Orente Alagbo, had arrived in the town two days before the event.
During the festival, Popoola allegedly offered to carry the child. She later disappeared from the venue with Ifakunle.
The family reported the boy missing at the Atiba Police Divisional Headquarters in Oyo town.
Investigators then turned to photographs and videos recorded during the festival. Police said the footage showed Popoola carrying the child shortly before his disappearance.
That evidence helped detectives identify and trace the suspect.
Missing boy leads police to alleged trafficking network
Police arrested Popoola on August 4. During questioning, investigators said she provided information about other children allegedly stolen from different locations.
According to the police, Popoola admitted involvement in the theft of more than 15 children between the ages of two and seven.
The alleged victims were reportedly taken from churches, parties and other public events within and outside Oyo State.
Her alleged accomplice, Adekanbi Janet, popularly known as Hosanna, was later arrested in Mowe, Ogun State.
Police said officers rescued four children aged between two and four from the location. They also found two pregnant women there.
The investigation suggested that the alleged operation was not limited to one location. Instead, it reportedly involved moving children between different states.
Oyo child trafficking trail stretches to Delta
The investigation eventually took detectives beyond Oyo and Ogun.
Police said officers travelled to Agbor in Delta State after receiving information from the suspects. Four children allegedly stolen from Oyo were rescued from suspected buyers.
Two suspects, identified as Christopher Joy and Rosemary Jesse, were arrested during the operation.
The development gave investigators a clearer picture of the alleged interstate nature of the network.
It also showed how a single missing-child case could expose a much larger operation.
Police say six children died in captivity
The investigation also took a darker turn.
Police said six children died while in the custody of members of the alleged network.
The command identified the deceased as Musharaf Lawal Tajudeen, 2; Greatness Adeagbo, 5; Sainat Amoo, 2; Taiwo Usman, 2; Daniel Solomon Olayinka, 7; and Miracle Olaniyi, 4.
Police further alleged that the bodies of some of the children were sold to suspected ritualists.
The command arrested two men, Muritala Fasasi, an Islamic cleric, and Yakubu Azeez, a herbalist, over the alleged ritual-related activities.
These allegations remain subject to investigation and possible prosecution.
What happened to the missing Oyo boy?
Police said officers eventually rescued Ifakunle around the Gbagi area of Ibadan on August 20.
His rescue provided a breakthrough in a case that had started with a child disappearing during a crowded traditional festival.
However, investigators say the case has now grown into a wider probe into alleged child trafficking across several states.
The Oyo State Police Command has urged parents and guardians with missing children to visit its headquarters in Eleyele, Ibadan, to identify the rescued children.
The case also highlights a difficult reality for families attending crowded public gatherings: a child can disappear within moments, even in a place filled with people.
For the police, the search for one missing three-year-old has opened a much bigger investigation into Oyo child trafficking.
And what began at a masquerade festival may yet reveal more about how the alleged network operated.
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