The suspect, identified simply as Adebayo, was said to have moved into the
community four days earlier and started squatting with a friend.
He was already at the bus stop, about to pick a car,
along with the children, when a woman recognized one of the children and
stopped him. After Adebayo was arrested, his friend, whom he had been squatting
with, disappeared from the community, leaving residents confused.
The five rescued
kids have been identified as Ayo (7), Tunde (6), Ayomide (8), Basirat
(8) and Kehinde (6).
According residents, Adebayo used the opportunity of
an ongoing Church Crusade programme in the community to abduct the children.
The abduction took place on October 8, around 6pm.
Most of the community members were said to have gone
to attend the crusade, leaving most areas in the community deserted. Adebayo
allegedly picked the children randomly in the community.
Immediately he abducted the children, he moved to
Kara bus stop, where a he wanted to charter a car.
The children were said to have been rescued after a
woman, coming from Mowe direction, recognised one of the children and asked the
boy where he was going with Adebayo. The boy innocently told the woman that
Adebayo was taking them out.
Sensing something was off-key, the woman raised the
alarm. Everyone gathered.
A resident in the community, Mr. Taiwo Adetunji, said:
“ It was a woman that confronted Adebayo. She asked him where he was taking the
children to. When he couldn’t give a reasonable explanation, she raised the
alarm. If not for the woman, the abductor would have made away with the children.
I don’t know how he managed to pick the children across the community without
anybody noticing or challenging him.
“I still don’t understand how or why the children
followed him without crying or making a noise. I mean, he’s not a well-known
person in the community. It’s possible he used charms on the children or lured
them with something.”
A chief in the community, who identified himself
simply as Ojomu, said: “When I got to the scene, I collected his phone and spoke with his
accomplices, who were speaking with him. When the caller realised that it was
not Adebayo on the line, he switched off his phone. Since then, the phone had
not been going through. We prevented the suspect from being beaten by angry
youths. We called policemen from Ojodu Abiodun to arrest him.”
Mrs. Fatimo Femi, whose son and grandson were among
the rescued kids, said she was sleeping when the information about the
abduction reached her.
She said: “ The suspect was living with a friend in
this same house where I stayed with the kids; but my children didn’t relate
with him. I’m still shocked at how he was able to lure them out of the house
with other children. I thank God for the rescue of the children.”
Another mother, Mrs. Azeezat Alaran, whose eight-year old daughter was also kidnapped and rescued, said the girl
was playing in a neighbour’s house, from where she was abducted.
Another happy mother, Mrs. Abibat Ilyasu said: “ I went
to mosque to pray around 4pm; when I came back, I couldn’t find my daughter at
home. When I asked about her, I was told she went to a neighbour’s house to
play. Later, someone called me on phone that my daughter was kidnapped, but had
been rescued. I rushed immediately to Kara, where I saw many people gathered.”
The personal Assistant to Oba of Isheri- Olofin, Alhaji
Saudi Adeshina, said that it was God
that rescued the children.
He added: “Due to the abduction of the kids, we have
fortified our security in the community to prevent future occurrences.”
When the Ogun State Police Public Relations Officer
(PPRO), Mr Abimbola Oyeyemi was contacted via phone, he did not pick his calls.
Our correspondent also sent a text message, which he was yet to respond to as
at press time.
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