Oyo State law enforcement officials have apprehended a grandfather on charges of forcibly taking custody of his daughter’s newborn baby in Oyo town and subsequently selling the infant to a baby trafficking operation located in Abia for a sum of N700,000.

The investigation led to the arrest of five individuals suspected of collaborating with the grandfather in the illicit scheme at the baby trafficking facility.

Providing details to the press in Ibadan on Saturday, Commissioner of Police for Oyo state, Mr. Adebola Hamzat, disclosed that the grandfather had taken the infant girl from her teenage mother, Sarah Chukwuka, on July 10.

Subsequently, the grandfather was traced and arrested at his undisclosed residence in Ibafo, Ogun.

“The individual, who asserted his biological relationship with the teenage mother, admitted guilt in the crime,” Commissioner Hamzat reported.

“He confessed to deceiving the mother by offering to entrust the baby to a caregiver. He also revealed his involvement in transporting the baby to Abia, where he orchestrated the sale to the proprietor of the illicit baby factory situated in Obehi, within the Okwa West Local Government Area. The transaction amounted to N700,000.”

Following a raid on the baby trafficking facility, the police detained a female suspect identified as Bunmi along with four additional collaborators. During the operation, officials recovered a collection of fabricated birth certificates and various tools utilized in delivery rooms.

Commissioner Hamzat highlighted that the five newly apprehended suspects were unable to provide coherent explanations regarding the origins of the infants found within the facility.

Furthermore, Commissioner Hamzat also disclosed the apprehension of six other suspects implicated in cases of robbery, kidnapping, cult activities, and car theft. The suspects confessed to orchestrating a robbery that targeted a victim in Ibadan, during which they employed dangerous weapons such as machetes and jack knives to steal expensive mobile phones, laptops, jewelry, and other valuables amounting to several million Naira.

Commissioner Hamzat concluded by noting that the apprehended suspects have also acknowledged their involvement in a series of previous criminal acts across different locations within the capital city of Oyo State. The police are actively working to bring these cases to a resolution.