Christopher Oji
Two children who were abducted five years ago have been found in the Fadeyi area of Lagos after being declared missing by the police all the while.
The children, who are now 12 and 11, were stolen in 2014. They were found last Thursday and have been reunited with their families by the Lagos State Police Command.
One of the suspects who abducted the children, Christiana, has been arrested for stealing and keeping the two children in her custody.
Lagos State police spokesman, CSP Chike Oti, said: “Luck ran out on the said Christiana when one of the abducted children, Ikimot, 12, came to Denton Police Station and reported that she was taken away from her parents some years ago and handed over to a woman she now calls mum. She mentioned her abductor’s address and asked the police to reunite her with her parents.
“Based on her complaint, the divisional police officer) in charge of Denton Police Station, CSP Saheed Quadri, led a team of detectives to No. 1 Ogati Street, Fadeyi, where the suspect was apprehended.
“When the suspect and her victim were debriefed, the child stated that she was seven years old when she started living with the suspect and that her present age is 12. She mentioned another little boy, Okashetu Musa, as another victim of the suspect. Thus, the DPO dispatched a team of detectives to rescue the boy who was abducted when he was six, now 11 years old.
“In his own account, the boy, who could still speak Hausa, said he once lived in the Ebute Meta area of the state with his mother. The leader of the Hausa community in Ebute Meta was invited to the station to help link the child to his parents. The leader, after consultation with his subjects, claimed that the mother of the boy, a blind woman, had relocated to Kastina State having lost hope in the possibility of finding her child.
“Meanwhile, the children have been reunited with their parents while the suspect has been charged to Ebute Meta Magistrate’s Court 5 with conspiracy, abduction and child stealing. Commissioner of Police Zubairu Muazu has directed the DPO to intensify efforts in ensuring that all the persons connected with the crime are arrested and prosecuted.”