Operatives of the Ondo State Police Command have apprehended a couple from Edo State, Lukman Isiaka, 42, and Abosede Olanipekun, 23, in connection with a series of child abductions across Ondo and Osun states. 

The couple, who are accused of kidnapping children and selling them for ₦1 million each, were arrested following a police investigation that uncovered their disturbing activities.

Police have successfully recovered 10 of the stolen children, although some parents are still searching for their missing children. Authorities say the couple used various tactics to abduct the children, including deceptive promises and false identities. 

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The children, whose names were reportedly changed, were found to have been relocated to Ihiala in Anambra State, where they were sold to 62-year-old Sabina Izuorah.

Investigations suggest that Isiaka and Olanipekun may have previously been involved in similar abductions in Edo State before expanding their operations to Ondo and Osun. Many of the victims no longer recognized their parents, and some spoke the Igba dialect, indicating they had been raised away from their homes for extended periods.

Among the recovered children were four babies, aged between one and six weeks, whose parents remain unknown. Police also revealed that the couple's most recent abduction occurred in 2022 when they took a child from her mother. Isiaka posed as a man named Samuel Adejobi and introduced his wife as his sister, Ewatomi. 

After promising the mother to buy her a phone, Isiaka left the child with his alleged sister, only for the mother to discover later that both he and the child had disappeared. The couple’s arrest came after police tracked them to their home in Edo, following a report of the missing child. 

Authorities are continuing their investigation to identify the full extent of their crime.

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