The child’s father, Ahmed Owoduni, told SaharaReporters on Tuesday evening that his son went missing on January 17, 2026, at 13 Orji Street, Iba New Site, Iyana Iba, Lagos.
A three-year-old boy identified as Ibrahim Owoduni was abducted while playing in front of his family home in Iba New Site, Iyana Iba area of Lagos State and later trafficked to Anambra State after being sold for N1.5 million, SaharaReporters has learned.
The child’s father, Ahmed Owoduni, told SaharaReporters on Tuesday evening that his son went missing on January 17, 2026, at 13 Orji Street, Iba New Site, Iyana Iba, Lagos.
Owoduni said the disappearance was immediately reported at the Adolf Police Station in Iba New Site, while family members and neighbours began circulating announcements on Facebook and other social media platforms.
“We promptly reported at the police station at Adolf, Iba New Site. Announcements were made in Facebook and other social media,” he stated.
According to the father, a major breakthrough occurred on Saturday, January 24, 2026, when he approached a neighbour living opposite his house who had installed CCTV cameras covering the street.
“On Saturday January 24, 2026, I approached a man who lives opposite my house and had CCTV installed in his house and outside capturing the environment. He told me to come with the police to watch the footage. I did. The footage showed one Sadiq Ige who lived at 23, Orji Street (same street) with me went with my son, Ibrahim,” Owoduni said.
He added that other children playing outside had earlier told the family that Ige bought biscuits for Ibrahim on the day his child disappeared.
“Meanwhile, the children playing outside had initially told us that they saw Sadiq Ige buy biscuits for Ibrahim on the day he was missing. We had challenged Sadiq but he denied knowing the whereabouts of the child but admitted that he bought biscuits for him then. He also joined in the search for the child unknown to us that he actually kidnapped Ibrahim,” he said.
Following the CCTV evidence, Ige was arrested by the police at Adolf, Iba New Site on Thursday, January 24, 2026, and later transferred to the Lagos State Criminal Investigation Department, Panti, Yaba, on Monday, January 26, 2026.
“On Monday, January 26, 2026, Sadiq Ige was transferred to Panti. It is being handled in D7,” Owoduni said.
At the police station in Panti, Ige reportedly confessed to handing the child over to another resident of the same street.
“Sadiq Ige confessed to the crime at the police station in Panti, Yaba, stating that he handed over the boy to one Adetayo Yusuf also of 23, Orji Street, Eleda, Iba New Site,” Owoduni said.
The confession led to the arrest of Adetayo Yusuf and a woman identified as Vera Okon.
Owoduni said Vera Okon also confessed to selling Ibrahim and transporting him to Anambra State.
“Vera Okon confessed to selling the boy for N1.5 million and taking the boy to a village in Ihiala, Akwa in Anambra State on January 25, 2026 and that she returned on January 26, 2026,” he said.
The distraught father disclosed that police asked him to provide a vehicle to accompany officers and the suspect to Anambra State to retrieve his son.
“I hired a bus for N500,000. We took off on Thursday January 29, 2026. I was monitoring events through phone calls,” Owoduni said.
“Then I called and was told that they had arrived in Akwa, where the police said some documentation was done. I was also informed over the phone that when they reached the police station in the village, the officers were told to obtain an additional document because the initial documentation was incomplete,” he explained.
“So the police from Lagos went back to Akwa to get the document. By the time the police returned to the village, it was late. So they kept the suspect (the woman) in the cell of the station at the village,” he added.
The following day, Owoduni said he was informed that efforts were being made to locate the child and the alleged buyer.
“The next day when I called, the police from Lagos told me that the police in the village had gone with the suspect to look for the child and the person he sold him to,” he said.
However, on Saturday, January 31, 2026, the police team returned to Lagos without Ibrahim or the alleged buyer.
He further quoted the driver who conveyed the team to Anambra as describing the village as a dangerous location.
“I called the driver of the Sienna bus whom I paid N500,000 to convey them to ask for what transpired. The driver whose name showed ‘Stanley Driver Enugu (Chigbo)’ on Truecaller said that the village was ‘a no-enter area’ and that they gathered that child kidnapping was a regular business activity there, and the Vera Okon was not straight-forward,” Owoduni said.
According to him, the driver said Vera Okon attempted to contact the buyer but the buyer refused to answer her calls.
“He (the driver) said that Vera Okon called the buyer who refused to pick up. However, he called him with his own phone (driver) and the buyer picked up and he handed over the phone to the woman to speak with the buyer. The driver said the buyer said he was aware that the police were looking for him. He said he was not available for arrest,” Owoduni added.
The father also alleged possible compromise by a police officer at the station where Ige was first detained.
“Whereas, it was gathered that a police officer (aka Small) in Iba New Site, Lagos where Sadiq Ige was first arrested was said to have communicated to Ige in the cell at Iba station that his (Ige) people had said that they would get him a lawyer and that he should remain calm. The police officer has been requested to appear at Panti for interrogation,” he said.
Despite his ordeal, Owoduni commended some officers handling the case.
“The head of the team handling my case, CSP Musa Arigu, is doing excellent work with genuine fatherly empathy. The IPO is ASP Alonge. I also appreciate the concern and empathy shown by CSP Lawal Hakeem Saudi,” he said.
As of Wednesday morning, Ibrahim remains missing, while three suspects, Sadiq Ige, Adetayo Yusuf, and Vera Okon, are in police custody.
The family is appealing for intensified efforts to rescue the child and to dismantle what appears to be a child trafficking network operating across state lines.