A Magistrate Court sitting at the Samuel Ilori Court, Ogba, Lagos, has remanded a woman, Martina Adebayo, in Kirikiri Correctional Centre over alleged child trafficking pending the perfection of her bail conditions.

Magistrate Lateef Owolabi ordered the remand after granting the defendant bail in the sum of N500,000 with two sureties, who must provide evidence of landed property ownership.

The court subsequently adjourned the matter until July 16, 2026, for trial.

Adebayo, who was also introduced as Blessing Moses, was arrested on June 1, 2026, and transferred to the Gender Unit of the Lagos State Police Command for investigation into the alleged offences.

According to police findings, the suspect’s daughter, Tosin Adebayo, also known as Tosin Moses and currently at large, allegedly lured a 16-year-old victim of human trafficking, identified as Hannah (surname withheld), to Libya in February 2026, where she was allegedly forced into prostitution.

Police operatives reportedly visited Adamo, Ikorodu, on June 1, 2026, to arrest the suspects but only found the defendant, who had reportedly travelled from Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State, and was allegedly waiting to be transported to Libya alongside the victim.

Investigators alleged that Tosin specialised in recruiting young girls, inviting them to her residence in Adamo before taking them to her mother’s residence at Lucky Fibre, Itokin Road, Ikorodu, from where arrangements were made for their movement out of Nigeria.

The victim, who had been living with her father in Okonron, Adamo, Ikorodu, was allegedly lured by Tosin in late January 2026. She reportedly travelled through Ghana before arriving in Libya in February 2026 and eventually escaped and returned to Nigeria on May 27, 2026.

Following the victim’s return, the case was transferred to the Gender Unit of the Lagos State Police Command on June 1, 2026, while the affected girls were taken to a sexual assault referral centre for medical examination and support services.

In the charge filed by the police in the case between the Commissioner of Police and the defendant, Adebayo and her daughter were accused of conspiring to traffic young girls for prostitution.

The charge alleged that between February and March 2026, at No. 12 New Era Street, Parata, Ikorodu, Lagos, the defendant and her daughter conspired to shelter and traffic three girls from Ikorodu to Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, for the purpose of prostitution, an offence punishable under Section 411 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.

During proceedings, the prosecuting counsel, Adegoke, urged the court to remand the defendant for 30 days pending legal advice from the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP). However, defence counsel, Raji Lateef, opposed the application and urged the court to grant bail, arguing that the defendant was not a flight risk and would make herself available for trial.

The court subsequently admitted the defendant to bail but ordered her remand pending the fulfilment of the bail conditions.