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From Priscilla Ediare, Ado-Ekiti
The Ekiti State Police Command has uncovered an illegal baby factory located in Ikere Local Government Area of the state.
The command said it has arrested five females, including one Onyechi Oluwadare (43), who hails from the eastern part of the country and is suspected to be operating the factory.
Addressing newsmen at the command’s headquarters in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital, the Commissioner of Police, Joseph Eribo, explained that, following a tip-off, the command apprehended the suspects at their residence in Ire-Akari/Araromi community in Ikere-Ekiti.
Other persons arrested in connection with the crime were Gloria Onuoha (28), Victoria Linus (25), Mercy Ihegbogu (21) and a heavily pregnant woman, Esther Emmanuel (23).
“On 24/01/2026 at about 08:30hrs, the Command received a credible tip-off that the prime suspect, Oluwadare Onyechi, a 43-year-old woman, runs an illegal baby factory alongside four other suspects somewhere behind Inisa Hotel and Suit, along Ise-Ekiti Road, Ikere-Ekiti.
“Upon receipt of the information, the Command Operatives swung into action, cordoned off the premises used for the illegal business, and arrested Oluwadare Onyechi and four other accomplices namely, Onuoha Gloria ‘28 yrs’, Victoria Linus ‘25 yrs’, Ihegbogu Mercy ‘21 yrs’ and a heavily pregnant Emmanuel Esther ‘23 yrs’.
“A search was conducted on the premises and six children within the age of 2 and 9, reasonably suspected to be under bondage and exploitation, were rescued. Items such as baby delivery materials, some rolls of dexamethasone tablet and some bottles of Goya oil were recovered from the scene,” he said.
When newsmen visited Oluwadare’s gated and fenced residence, a temple was found within the premises.
According to her, she lost her husband, a native of Ikere-Ekiti, in December 2021, and she has been catering for the children since his demise.
Some fetish and spiritual items, including empty clay pots, clay pots containing blood, a clay canoe with human figurines, carcasses of birds and some other animals, statuettes appearing in human and animal forms, dolls wrapped with red cloths, bottles of dry gin, packs of cube sugar, among others, were found in the temple.
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She said she used to travel to her village to offer prayers at the temple but decided to relocate the temple from her hometown to her Ikere-Ekiti residence in November 2025 to avoid travelling regularly to her village to offer supplications.
A resident of the community, Mr Sunday Afolabi, said the prime suspect, Oluwadare, has been living in the area for several years.
According to him, the woman’s husband was reportedly killed by unknown gunmen on his farm some years ago.
He said: “We often noticed different kinds of luxury cars visiting the house and initially we thought the visitors were her family members.”
However, Afolabi noted that the community was not aware of her alleged involvement in a baby factory operation until security operatives stormed her residence and arrested her.
The CP also disclosed that the command arrested one Ibrahim Abubakar, a notorious cattle rustler and kidnapping kingpin.
He said investigation revealed that Ibrahim Abubakar has, over the years, rustled many cattle in Ekiti, Kwara and Kogi states and has been on the wanted list of the three states.
During investigation, Ibrahim Abubakar confessed that he is into cattle-rustling business and mentioned different occasions in the past when he attacked cattle owners and made away with their cattle.
A large number of rustled cattle, numbering two hundred and fifty-five (255), were recovered from him, alongside another 303 cattle recovered from another prime suspect, making a total of 558 cattle.
