OGUN POLICE ARREST COUPLE OVER ALLEGED CHILD STEALING, RESCUE THREE CHILDREN
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By Aishat Momoh. O.
The Ogun State Police Command has arrested a couple, Mathew Ugochukwu and Oluwarankami Kehinde, over alleged child stealing in the Mowe area of the state.
The command’s spokesperson, CSP Babaseyi Oluseyi, disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday, revealing that three children were rescued during the operation.
According to the statement, the suspects were identified as Oluwarankami Kehinde Ugochukwu and her husband, Mathew Ugochukwu.
Oluseyi said the arrest followed a complaint lodged at the Mowe Police Division by a resident of Omo Onile, Mowe, on Sunday.
The complainant reportedly told police that while she was receiving treatment at a clinic on Saturday, one of the suspects visited her under the guise of checking on her health condition.
The suspect allegedly offered to help care for the woman’s four-month-old baby while she rested, but later disappeared with the child.
“Upon receipt of the report, detectives of the division were immediately mobilised. Motor parks and strategic locations within the area were placed under surveillance while intelligence-led operations were intensified,” the statement said.
Police operatives later tracked the suspects to their hideout in the Kekere Ekun area of Mowe on May 18, 2026, at about 7:55 p.m.
“Acting on credible intelligence, detectives tracked the suspects to their hideout in the Kekere Ekun area of Mowe… where the stolen child was rescued alongside two other children found in their possession,” the statement added.
The couple were subsequently arrested and taken into custody.
Preliminary investigations by the police revealed that one of the additional children rescued had earlier been declared missing in a 2024 child-stealing case.
According to the police, the child was allegedly abducted from a hairdressing salon using a similar method of pretending to offer assistance.
“The biological parents of two of the rescued children have been contacted and have positively identified their wards,” Oluseyi stated.
The case has since been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department in Eleweran, Abeokuta, for further investigation.
Reacting to the development, the Commissioner of Police in Ogun State, CP Bode Ojajuni, commended officers of the Mowe Division for their swift response and professionalism.
He also reaffirmed the command’s commitment to combating child trafficking, abduction and other violent crimes across the state.
The police urged residents to remain vigilant and report suspicious activities through the command’s emergency channels.
The incident comes days after the Abia State Police Command announced the arrest of three female suspects over alleged child stealing, during which two children were also rescued.
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