A Magistrate Court sitting in Akure, Ondo State, has ordered the remand of three persons, Sabira Izuora, Lukman Isiaka, and Abosede Olanipekun, in prison custody for allegedly kidnapping and selling 14 children. The trio was arrested by the state police command for allegedly kidnapping four babies and 10 underage children in Osun and Ondo states.
According to the police, Isiaka and Olanipekun kidnapped the victims in both states and sold them to Izuora, who operated an orphanage home in Enugu State. The state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Wilfred Afolabi, revealed that the defendants sold each child to Izuora for N500,000, while she sold each baby for N1 million to her customers.
The defendants were arraigned before the court on Wednesday last week on seven counts bordering on conspiracy, abduction, felony, obtaining by false pretences, and aiding and abetting. However, it was gathered that the police charged the defendants in court for stealing two babies, while other victims were still in their custody.
The prosecutor, Inspector Augustine Omhenimhen, told the court that the offences were committed between July 21, 2023, and August 27, 2024, in various locations across the state. He provided specific details of the alleged kidnappings, including the abduction of a child, Ayomide Abass, from his mother, Korede Abass, on July 21, 2023.
Omhenimhen further alleged that Izuora received and harboured the victims, paying N900,000 for each child, fully aware that they had been stolen. The offences, according to the prosecutor, contravened Sections 516 and 317(1) of the Criminal Code and Sections 3(1)(b) and 5(1) of the Ondo State Anti-Kidnapping and Anti-Abduction Law, 2010.
The prosecutor filed a written application requesting the court to remand the defendants at the Olokuta Correctional Centre in Akure, pending advice from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP). In his ruling, the magistrate, Taiwo Lebi, held that the court lacked jurisdiction to take the defendants’ pleas and ordered them to be remanded at the Olokuta Correctional Centre.
The magistrate directed that the case file be sent to the DPP for legal advice and adjourned the case till April 10, 2025, for further mention. The remand of the three persons is a significant development in the case, which has sparked widespread outrage and concern about the safety and welfare of children in the state.
The Ondo State Police Command has been commended for its efforts in apprehending the suspects and bringing them to justice. The case is expected to continue in April, and the public will be watching closely to see how the matter unfolds.
