The Ogun State Police Command has dismantled an organised child trafficking and illegal surrogacy syndicate operating under the guise of an orphanage, rescuing seven children and arresting five suspects.
The operation was carried out by operatives of the Anti-Kidnapping Unit of the State Criminal Investigation Department after the case was transferred from the Idanyin Divisional Headquarters in Agbara to the SCID in Ado-Odo/Ota Local Government Area.
Police spokesperson DSP Oluseyi Babaseyi disclosed this in a statement issued Thursday, saying investigators also uncovered a plan to sell babies for ₦1.5 million each.
Babaseyi said the case originated on Nov. 28, 2025, when a woman identified as Amara reported the abduction of her six-year-old son, Samuel Honesty, at the Idanyin police division.
“Preliminary investigations led to the arrest and prosecution of Chioma Honest and Praise Honesty for suspected foul play,” he said.
He added that the matter was later transferred to the SCID for further investigation. On Jan. 21, 2026, the abducted child was dropped at the Gowon Police Station in Lagos State, where he told officers he had been taken to Joyful Kids Orphanage in Badagry and identified the operator as Madam Joy.
“Acting on this intelligence, operatives conducted a coordinated operation at the orphanage, rescuing six additional children and bringing the total number of rescued minors to seven,” Babaseyi said.
The rescued children were identified as Ramsey Chiedozie, 8; Rafael Rofiu, 6; Kazeem Chiedozie, 6; Segun Uthman, 9; Ola Abdulhakeem Abdulrasheed, 9; David Oyelese, 9; and Samuel Honesty, 6.
Babaseyi said Samuel Honesty has since been reunited with his mother.
During the raid, police also found two pregnant teenagers, Tanimola Martins and Favour Martins, both 18, who allegedly confessed to being recruited to carry pregnancies for the purpose of selling their babies to pre-arranged buyers at ₦1.5 million per child.
Police said the principal suspect, Joy Chiedozie, 36, also known as Madam Joy, allegedly admitted to purchasing the abducted child for ₦1.5 million, paying ₦900,000 in cash and ₦600,000 through a bank transfer to a woman identified as Kelly.
She was said to have sold the child to a man identified as Emmanuel, who remains at large.
