It was end of the road for 42 years old Lukman Isiaka and his 23 years old wife Abosede as police detectives from Ondo State tracked them to their base in Edo State to arrest them for stealing a child in Akure, Ondo State capital.

The couple revealed that they had been stealing children from Ondo and Osun states since 2022, selling each child they stole for N1 million to one Sabina Izuorah in Ihiala, Anambra State.

Police raid on Clara Children Care and Reform Initiative owned by Izuorah led to the recovery of 10 children stolen by Isiaka and his wife, and four other babies whose parents were yet to be identified.

Ondo State Commissioner of Police, Wilfred Afolabi, said the suspects were arrested due to intelligence-led policing.

Afolabi said Isiaka and his wife had presented themselves as siblings before the complainant. He said they gave their names as Samuel Adejobi (Isiaka) and Ewatomi (Abosede).

According to him, ?while playing with the complainant?s child, Abosede deceived her by claiming she wanted to buy biscuits for the baby. Meanwhile, Lukman distracted the complainant by engaging her in a personal conversation and requested she followed him to Olukayode Plaza in the market to get a mobile phone.

On getting to the market area, he abandoned her and left. On getting back to the shop, the complainant discovered that her child was missing while Abosede, the supposed sister of the man she followed to the market, was nowhere in sight.

Isiaka said he hails from Ibadan and worked as a bricklayer before he started stealing children. He said it was Mrs. Izuorah who encouraged him to steal children and also taught him the techniques to use.

He said: ?I am from Ibadan but stay in Edo State. I have been stealing children since 2022. I have stolen 12 children.

?When we are going and we see children walking alone, we tell them we want to buy them bobo (soft drink) and they will follow us.

?After they followed us, we would ride on a bike and head to the motor park to take a bus to Anambra State.?

Asked whether he had sold any of his own children, he said: ?I have not sold any child. My only child has died.

?I went to do some work in Anambra and I was introduced to Izuorah after completing the job I went there to do.

?She gave me a job to do, and after finishing her work, she said she was into orphanage business and that we should bring any child we find to her.

?I told her I don?t know how to steal children and she told me what to do.

?We don?t keep the children. Immediately they follow us, we buy them biscuits, bobo and also gave them our phones to stop them from crying.?

Izuorah denies Isiaka, says I stopped dealing with him since November

Alleged receiver of the children, Mrs. Izuorah, described Isiaka as an idiot.

She claimed she recently suffered from partial stroke and had stopped Isiaka from bringing children to her since November.

She said: ?I am 68 years old. I am not into any business with Isiaka or buying children.

?I retired as a Director, Ministry of Women and Children Affairs, Anambra State.

?I have a registered Orphanage. I take care of children.

?These babies were kept in my custody by their parents pending when they will collect them.

?They claim the children they brought were abandoned by their parents. I didn?t pay them any money.

?When they bring the children and I get a family that needs them, after documentation whatever they give to Lukman, I don?t know about it.

?I go through the normal process. I started full operation in 2020.

?Isiaka brought 11 children. I don?t pay. It is the adopting parents that pay Lukman.

I had already given out the children Isiaka brought. I have just recovered them from their adoptive parents.

?I don?t sell babies. Adoption did not start with me and will not end with me.?

Victim: How they stole my three grandchildren

Some parents whose children were allegedly stolen by Isiaka and his wife, Abosede, spoke on how their children were stolen and taken to Anambra State.

Mrs. Bosede Olowokere said three of her grandchildren were stolen in front of their residence. Two of the children were among the 10 police recovered while one was still missing.

Olowokere said: ?I am a grandmother to three of the stolen children. One is Samuel, the second is Olalimekan and the third is Ahmed. They stole them the same day in Ilesha, Osun State.

?I met them playing outside when I returned from work. I went to the market and met them when I returned. It was after cooking I started looking for them to come and eat.

?Since January 26, 2024, I have not seen them. But now I have seen two among the rescued ones. It remains one.

?We went everywhere in search of them but didn?t see them. I feel happy to have seen two.?

Mr Atilola?s son was not among the rescued children, but he identified Abosede as the woman that stole his baby. Bose had rented a room in the same building as Atilola and within few days, she stole their son and fled.

Atilola said: ?Lukman?s wife came to our area in Osun State that she wanted a rented apartment. The landlady gave her the apartment. She paid for six months.

?It was not long after that Bose (Abosede) took my child away. That is the Bose I am seeing now.

?We didn?t see our child here. He was three years old when Bose stole him. His name is Teslim Atilola Ahmed.?

Mrs. Babalola Salome said her son, David, was two years and six months old when he was stolen. She said her faith in God kept her going that she would see her again. Her son, whose name is now Chijioke, did not recognise her when they first met. He is now four years old.

According to her, her son was stolen on June 12, 2023. ?We have been coping by God?s grace.

?On that day, I was working inside my shop while David and his brother were playing in a nearby shop.

?I heard my son talking like someone was giving them something. I called David?s brother and he came. When I asked him to go call his brother, we didn?t see David again. We have been looking for him everywhere.

?I didn?t visit any Babalawo (witchdoctor). I believed that one day I would see my baby.

?My baby did not recognise me in the usual way. They gave him a new name, Chijioke, in Anambra State.

?I was not okay. It is difficult to wake up and not able not see your child. I thank Jehovah I am alive to see him again.?

Ondo State Commissioner of Police said they would soon be charged to court.

He said efforts were on to locate and rescue the other children on the missing list. (The Nation)

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