CITIZENS COMPASS–Three suspected child traffickers have confessed that they sell stolen children at the rate of ₦500,000 in Anambra State.
The suspects also said that the children were usually stolen from neighbouring states like Akure in Ondo and Ilesa in Osun states.
The suspects; Lukman Isiaka, 43; Abosede Olanipekun, 23; and Sabira Izuorah, 68, were apprehended with no fewer than 14 children in their possessions.
Two of them, Lukman and Abosede, were a couple who ran an unregistered orphanage.
The trio have been cooling their heels with the Ondo State Police Command.
They were among the suspects recently paraded by the Command.
It was learnt that the 14 babies including toddlers have been rescued from the ‘orphanage’ of Izuorah in Ihiala, Anambra State, where they were trafficked by the couple.
Among the stolen babies were three weeks old, two weeks old, and two months old, among others.
One of the suspects, Izuorah, who claimed to have retired as a Director from the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs, Anambra State, admitted to having received the children from the couple.
She said, “I have a registered orphanage. I took care of the children. The name of my orphanage is Clarion Children’s Care and Reforms Initiatives, and it started full operation in 2020.
“Lukman and his wife brought a total of 11 children to me. I don’t pay them; it is the adoptive parents who pay them. The adoptive parents don’t pay me; they give us food items and supplies.
“I stopped Lukman and his wife from bringing children for me in November 2024. All the children were no longer with me, but I went to recover them from their adoptive parents. It didn’t start with me, and it will not end with me.”
Lukman claimed to have been involved in the illicit business since 2023.
