…lures him away with biscuit, juice drink
An unidentified woman has allegedly stolen a four-year-old child, Kazeem Bello, from his parents’ residence in the Ajegunle area of Lagos State.
Bello was said to be playing with his friend, identified as Yusuf, around their house, when the unknown woman beckoned to the two of them and attempted to lure them away with the promise of buying them some biscuit and a fizzy juice drink loved by kids.
The unidentified woman was said to be dragging the two boys away, when Yusuf, who suddenly realised that he was not familiar with the stranger, began to cry as he struggled to wriggle himself free from her grip.
To avoid being caught, the suspected abductor was said to have quickly let go of Yusuf, but held on to Bello, who did not put up any resistance.
It was at this point that she snatched up Bello and ran towards a waiting tricycle, popularly called Keke Marwa, which sped off from the scene immediately the suspected kidnapper jumped inside it with her four-year-old captive.
Our correspondent gathered from residents of the area that the unidentified female abductor was earlier seen lurking around Bello’s parents’ residence at number 34, Ogbonwankwo Street, where the innocent children were playing.
An eye witness, who pleaded anonymity, explained that the unidentified woman had walked into the house, where he also lives as a tenant, and pretended to have been on a visit to another female tenant in the same house, as she confidently went into the common bathroom used by all the residents, to first ease herself.
He explained that the strange woman later emerged from the passage into the house, holding a large sack. But unknown to residents of the house, the woman was targeting the two kids, who were playing around the building.
He said when the woman was sure nobody was watching, she went for the two children, but succeeded in abducting four-year-old Bello. All efforts made to rescue the stolen child have so far proved abortive.
Narrating what the residents gathered from Yusuf, the other child who escaped abduction by the strange woman, a resident, Ayu Abubakar said, “The woman had promised to buy biscuits and Bobo drink for Yusuf and Kazeem. She was carrying them away when the other little boy (Yusuf) began to cry. The woman knew that could attract an attention and decided to push Yusuf back, but carried Kazeem into the waiting ‘Keke Marwa’, and the driver and the woman escaped with their victim, at top speed.
“It took about another 30 minutes before we realised that Kazeem had gone missing. Everybody in the area was screaming and we sent search parties after his suspected abductors. We went to many police stations, including Ajeromi, Orile, Amukoko, Tolu, Layeni and Trinity, but all to no avail.”
The distraught father of the four-year-old abducted boy, Mohammed Bello, was at pains speaking to our correspondent about his son’s mysterious disappearance.
According to him, “I want my son back. Anything that will bring Kazeem back, I’m ready to do it. He is my fifth child. I have six children- four males and two females. I was around when the incident occurred. I was sitting on my mat, reading my Quoran; unknown to me, a strange woman had stolen my child and escaped in a Keke Marwa. I will do anything possible to get my child back. I am ready to do anything to rescue my child. We have gone to so many police stations within Ajeromi- Ifelodun Local Government Area without success. We are still trying.
“My wife was first at home before she later went to the market to buy something and before she returned, our son had been stolen. Please, I’m begging every Nigerian, I’m begging both the Federal Government and the state government to help me to rescue my son from these child abductors. My child is dark in complexion. As at the time he was stolen on Saturday, my son wore a T-shirt. It has white, yellow and blue colour. He also wore a camouflage trousers.”
