The Ogun State Police Command has dismantled a syndicate of child trafficking and illegal surrogacy operating under the guise of an orphanage facility in the Agbara area of Ado-Odo/Ota Local Government Area.
The Commissioner of Police, CP Lanre Ogunlowo, disclosed this at a press conference on Thursday, stating that the breakthrough was achieved through intelligence gathering by operatives of the Anti-Kidnapping Unit of the State Criminal Investigation Department.
CP Ogunlowo revealed that seven children were rescued and five principal suspects arrested, exposing a planned sale of babies at the rate of N1.5 million per child.
The police boss explained that a complainant identified as Amara had, sometime in November, reported the abduction of her six-year-old son, Samuel Honesty, at the Idanyin Divisional Headquarters.
According to him, preliminary investigations led to the arrest and prosecution of Chioma Honest and Praise Honesty for suspected foul play, after which the case was transferred to the SCID for detailed investigation.
CP Ogunlowo said the abducted child was later dropped at Gowon Police Station on 21 January and subsequently taken into the custody of a woman identified as Madam Joy, who was said to be operating Joyful Kids Orphanage in Badagry.
He stated that operatives conducted a coordinated operation at the orphanage, rescuing six additional children and bringing the total number of rescued minors to seven.
The rescued children were identified as Ramsey Chiedozie (eight years), Rafael Rofiu (six years), Kazeem Chiedozie (six years), Segun Uthman (nine years), Ola Abdulhakeem Abdulrasheed (nine years), David Oyelese (nine years), and Samuel Honesty (six years).
The commissioner emphasised that Samuel Honesty has been safely reunited with his mother, Amara, bringing closure to a traumatic experience and restoring the family unit.
During the operation, two pregnant young women, identified as Tanimola Martins (18 years) and Favour Martins (18 years), were discovered within the facility. They reportedly confessed that they were recruited to carry pregnancies with the intention of selling their babies to pre-arranged buyers upon delivery, at a fee of N1.5 million per child, facilitated by the orphanage operator.
CP Ogunlowo added that the remaining six rescued children had been formally handed over to the Ogun State Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development for protective custody, welfare assessment and family tracing.