ν It’s extremely difficult for us to bear incident –Father of abducted kids
From Okey Sampson, Umuahia
For 43-year-old Chimaobi Aghah, a mason, and his 29-year-old wife, Oluchi, their world appears to have crumbled. If it were possible for them to erase November 27, from the calendar, they would have with all sense of fulfillment done that without qualms. But that certainly is beyond their capability.
Indeed, November 27, was a date the couple would have preferred never was, it was a date they never believed what happened to them would, it was a date that implanted indelible and biting memories in their hearts. It was a date a callous Keke rider eloped with all their four kids he was meant to take to school and since then, the couple’s life has not remained the same.
What happened? According to Aghah who hails from Amasiri in Afikpo North Local Government Area of Ebonyi state, but resides in Umuagu Ibeku in the Umuahia North Local Government Area of Abia State, his four children went missing on November 27, in the most unbelieving and agonizing way.
He revealed that his wife had prepared their children for school on the fateful day and had accompanied them outside to take them to school.
That was the last the children whose names were given as Chinweotiti and Nmesomachi (both twins and aged 7), Testimony (4) and Godswill (2), were seen
Aghah narrated that as the wife brought out the children in front of their house, she remembered she “left some beancakes (akara) frying on the stove for her business. So, she quickly went back inside to turn off the stove, leaving the children outside our home. Upon returning outside, she saw the children in a tricycle, waving at her”.
Little did the distraught lady know her children were bidding her farewell as they were being driven to the land of the unknown by the tricycle operator who zoomed off with them.
Mrs Aghah, believing the Keke rider meant well for her children, relaxed, with the intention the children had been taken to their school like in any other day.
However, that was not one bit the case and the mother of four was only to realize this when after hours school for the day, her children were not back home.
Hear Aghah: “When school dismissed that day and she didn’t find our children at home, she went to the school to pick them up, but the teachers informed her that the children did not come to school that day. It was at that moment that she started questioning how the children she had prepared for school in the morning did not make it to school despite the fact they were picked from our house by a Keke rider.”
The bewildered woman whose husband was away to Enugu for work on the day, could hardly contend with what she was told and had to put a distress call to her husband who immediately rushed back home.
On arriving at Umuahia from Enugu, Aghah went straight to his children’s school and on enquiry, he received the same response his wife was given – their children did not come to school on the fateful day.
Confused and in a frantic effort to locate his kids, he reported the matter to the police and also some media houses.
“We have made report of the incident to the police. In addition, we also made report to broadcasting stations and provided details of our children to them,” he said.
Aghah, who said he was ready to go to any length to look for his missing children, said that since the incident happened, the lives of his wife and himself have not remained the same.
He enthused that it took them a lot to raise the children to the level they were, and, therefore, it would be extremely difficult for them to bear it should anything untoward happen to the children.
His words: “It is extremely difficult for us as human beings to bear if anything untoward happens to our beloved children. We have spent a lot to raise them up till now and I don’t think we can cope without them.”
There were insinuation in some quarters that the children could be kidnap victims. Aghah did not object to this, but was quick to add that if his children were kidnapped, their abductors could have contacted the family for ransom, but since then, there was nothing of sorts.
When asked if anybody has contacted him for ransom, the distressed father of four said: “Absolutely not. We have not been contacted by anyone demanding ransom, and I am actively keeping an eye out for any such communication. However, I am appealing to anyone with this information to contact me.”
He, however, said that he has refused to toe that line of thinking because since he came to live in the area, there had not been any incident of kidnapping there.
He described the Umuagu community as a peaceful one where the ugly incident of kidnapping has not happened before.
Aghah is seriously appealing to those who are holding their only children to release them so they can reunite with their parents and other family members.
Mrs Oluchi, mother of the four missing pupils of Great Ambassadors School, Nkwoegwu, Umuahia, is said not to be finding life funny either.
She was said to have cried uncontrollably while narrating to the Mayor of Umuahia North Local Government, Victor Ikeji, who came calling, how her children were taken away before her.
Abia Command of the Nigerian police has confirmed the incident.
In a statement in Umuahia, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) of the Command, Maureen Chinaka, said that the incident was reported at the Ohuhu Police Station on November 28, 2023.
Chinaka disclosed that police swung into action immediately to recover the children, but had not succeeded, adding that investigation was ongoing.
Aghah corroborated what the command said: “The police are making sincere efforts. In fact, on the day we reported the incident, they assigned three officers to accompany us to all the locations we suspected could be hideouts for criminals, but unfortunately, no one was found.”
Apart from efforts made by the police to recover the kids, Aghah said some of his neighbours even volunteered to accompany them to wherever they had to go in search of the children.
Despite all the efforts, the kids were yet to be found, prompting Aghah to make a special appeal to all to assist in the recovery of the innocent children.