Kidnappers exchange boy with rice as collateral
A 12-year-old Junior Secondary School (JSS-2) student, has been used as a collateral in exchange to buy two bags of rice in Lagos.
The boy’s father, Pastor Joshua Ogbonna, disclosed this to journalists in Lagos when he was called by an officer from where the boy was arrested for a case of theft and not child missing as earlier complained.
Ogbonana explaining the senerio said he was at the New Oko – Oba Police Division at Abule-Egba to report the case of his missing child who was sent to get the moimoi he paid for but never came back where he received a call at about 5.pm in another police station to come for his son.
Ogbonna, accompanied by three policemen from New Oko-Oba Police Division, reached the station and was told that the case was not a missing child case but theft, alleging that the child had stolen two bags of rice.
According to Ogbonna the police showed him a footage of two men and the boy, who went to the two bags of rice at N180,000 from the rice seller.
He stated that the officer narrated how one of the men claimed to be the boy’s father and that they had a church event and needed to buy rice and asked the boy to wait at the rice shop, while he go to get the money for payment.
Ogbonna said the officer explained thatafter some time waiting endlessly fir the man ti cine , the boy was asked about the whereabout of his alleged father when he denied him being his father and do not know him from any where.
“The boy was beaten but git rescued by a man and took the boy to report the case where I was called to meet my sin,” Ogbonna said.
The Police said there is a CCTV Camera that captured them when they were coming to carry the rice.
“They didn’t show me where they were carrying the rice. The rice sellers insisted that I must pay for the rice, I told them, I can’t pay for two bags, I will pay for one bag for my son to be released to me. “I paid N90,000 for one bag of rice.
“After that, Policemen said I must bail my child, I told them it was not possible. They insisted, then I told them, I will leave my child with them if they refuse to release him to me. “I later paid N5,000 to bail my son,” he said.
Ogbonna said his son was later released to him after the payment of N10,000. When his son later recounted his encounter with the men while heading to get the moi-moi he paid for.
According to the boy, he was stopped by a man along the way who requested him to hold onto his phone while he washed his legs with water.
After given his phone back, the man suddenly struck him on the head, muttered some incantations, and he couldn’t recall what happened next.
“My son said the only thing he could remember was that he was on top of a motorcycle to a place with the man, where they took a tricycle (Keke Maruwa) to another place, from there, they took another motorcycle to Opawale, where the man abandoned him.
“The trauma was hell for my son. He has not recovered up till now. It was God, who saved his life,” Ogbonna said.
The Lagos Police Command’s spokesperson, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, confirmed the incident, stressing that the police was investigating the case.
Hundeyin advised traders to beware of fraudsters using innocent children as collateral to obtain goods as he advised on insisting payment before going away with items bought rather than leaving anybody behind.
