Nigeria – A suspected child abductor, Ola Ibikunle, has been detained by the police after he was caught with a four-year-old girl in the Oyero area of Ijoko, Ogun State.
It was learnt that Ibikunle, a bricklayer, had
held his victim, Eniola, by the neck and was
about to strangle her in an uncompleted
building when he was caught by passersby.
The suspect, who confessed to have stolen a three-year-old boy and sold him for N1,500 that’s about $4, was later handed over to operatives of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad of the Agbado Police Division.
Our correspondent in the area gathered that Eniola and her 11-year-old sister, Opeyemi, were following their father, Segun Quadri, to a church in Ijoko around 2pm on Tuesday.
The father was said to have gone some
distance ahead when the suspect
ambushed the children and abducted
Eniola.
The victim’s sister, Opeyemi, reportedly
raised the alarm which caught the attention
of some passersby.
The suspect was reportedly met in an
uncompleted building while trying to
strangle the girl.
An angry mob had beaten him up and about to set him ablaze before the Nigerian police arrived on the scene.
Ibikunle, who hails from Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti
State, told our correspondent that Eniola
was his second victim.
The suspect, who spoke in Yoruba,
confessed to have stolen a three-year-old
boy around the Ijoko area sometime in June
and sold him to a man in the Sango area for
N1,500.
He said, “I am a bricklayer, but I use child
abduction to augment my wages. A man in
the Sango area contracted me to always get
children for him. I don’t know what he uses
them for. Last month, I abducted a boy of
about three years and sold him to the man
for N1,500.
“This girl (Eniola) was the second child I
would abduct, but I did not succeed.”
The victim’s father, Segun, said he and the
children were already late for a church
programme on that day which made him to
walk faster than them.
He said, “The incident happened around
1pm on Tuesday. We had a programme in
our church and we were late. Since
Opeyemi is older, I thought they should be
able to find their way to the church.
“I had gone some distance ahead when
some people called me that Opeyemi said
her younger sister had been abducted. She
said the abductor escaped with Eniola to an
uncompleted building and she led us there.
We met him holding her by the neck.”
A police source told our correspondent that
efforts were being made to apprehend the
buyer of the abducted children.
“The suspect has confessed to the crime
and he stated that he sells his victims to a
man in the Sango area. But he has yet to
mention the name of the kingpin. Some
operatives followed him to the area twice,
but he did not lead them to the man’s
house. We are going to ensure that we track
him down,” the source said.
The Nigerian Police, Ogun State Command, acting Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Abimbola Oyeyemi, said the suspect would be further investigated.
He said, “It is a case of suspected child
stealing. The police were able to arrest the
suspect with the help of residents. The
State Commissioner of Police, Ahmed Iliyasu, has directed that the suspect should be transferred to the command headquarters for a thorough investigation.”
Pan African Liberation Movement - palm 