Police arrest three suspects over child trafficking, hacking in Ogun

The Ogun State Police Command has arrested three suspects for hacking into the WhatsApp account of the state’s Criminal Investigation Department head, Deputy Commissioner of Police Bode Ojajuni, and defrauding his family and friends of over N1.1 million.

The Commissioner of Police, Lanre Ogunlowo, disclosed this on Monday while parading the suspects and others involved in various crimes at the command headquarters in Eleweran, Abeokuta.

Ogunlowo identified the suspects as Tolani Jeremiah (31), Akande Suru (20), and Edwin Jatto (24), who were apprehended at their hideout in Edo State. The trio allegedly hacked into DCP Ojajuni’s WhatsApp account and sent messages to his contacts, requesting urgent financial assistance.

The CP said, “The suspects hacked the WhatsApp account linked to GSM number 08034062773 belonging to DCP Bode Ojajuni of the State CID, Eleweran.

“Using the account, they deceived the victim’s friends and family into transferring funds to a Moniepoint account: 6862703892, bearing the name Ichioma Ojo. They defrauded their victims of N1,115,000.”

According to Ogunlowo, six mobile phones, including a Redmi Android phone and several other devices used in the hacking operation, were recovered from the suspects. Investigations revealed that the suspects used a Gmail account (akandesuru342@gmail.com) to bypass WhatsApp’s one-time password security system.

“The suspects confessed to the crime and are part of an internet fraud syndicate preying on innocent citizens,” Ogunlowo added.

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In a separate case, the police paraded members of a child trafficking syndicate allegedly led by a suspect identified as Mama Faith, who is currently in custody at the Ibara Correctional Centre.

Among those paraded were ThankGod Taiwo (35), Patience Chikieze (54), and Oluyinka Folake (43). The trio was implicated in the abduction and sale of children for illegal adoption.

Taiwo was arrested at his hideout after abducting a seven-year-old girl, Mercy Akande, whom he sold to Chikieze for N650,000 at Ipaja Roundabout, Lagos. Chikieze, arrested on 29 December at Lafenwa-Itele, led police to her residence, where the child was rescued unhurt.

According to the CP, Chikieze confessed that her buyer rejected Mercy because of her age. Further investigations revealed that Chikieze had previously purchased a three-year-old boy, Mohees Daniel, for ₦250,000 and sold him for N3 million.

Chikieze also allegedly bought another child, David Jesulayomi, from Oluyinka for N1.5 million, which she attempted to sell for profit. Both children were recovered, along with fake adoption agreements issued by Chikieze.

“She created a WhatsApp group named Prema Consult to lure unsuspecting adopters under the guise of legal child adoption,” the CP explained.

“She and her accomplices, including Taiwo and Folake, confessed to working for Mama Faith, who orchestrated the illegal operations.”
CP Ogunlowo, who assumed office three weeks ago, warned criminals in
the state to desist from illegal activities or face the full weight of the law.

He urged residents to support the police with timely intelligence to combat crime effectively.