The 33-year-old proprietress of a neighbourhood home lesson
at Idi-Omo area of Ibadan, Oyo State, Mrs Kafayat Olatubosun, has described the
incident which led to the disappearance of four pupils in her care as one that
is like a devil stalking her, after which he crept in and struck.
A woman simply identified as eleha (woman in purdah)
disappeared with the kids on Tuesday, November 18, 2014. The children are yet
to be found till the writing of this
report.
The four missing children, whose names were given as
Abdulsalam Aderibigbe, Abigail Adegunju, Chidiebere and Onyiyechukwu were
reportedly taken away by the eleha who disguised as someone in need of an
employment. She struck within 30 minutes of starting her job as a lesson
assistant.
According to Mrs Olatunbosun who is nursing a 14-month-old
baby and is currently kept in protective custody at State Criminal
Investigation, Iyaganku, Ibadan, “I started operating a neighbourhood lesson
for children at Sagbolada Compound, Idi Omo, Ibadan in 2009. I rented a space
in the compound and I pay N500 monthly for it.
“I have about 35 pupils between the ages of one-and-half and
three. Sometimes, primary school pupils sent home from their schools because of
non-payment of fees are brought by their parents so that there would be no
vacuum in their academic lives. I collect N20 daily for each child and the
lesson hours are between 8a.m. and 1p.m.”
The National Teachers Institution (NTI) certificate holder
and mother of three spoke further: “I had been working alone all the years,
with regular assistance from my husband and a few elderly women staying within
and around the lesson.
“Whenever I wanted to move round to pick children from their
homes, my husband would stay with the ones already in class. Same would happen
in the afternoon until the last child had been taken home. Whenever he was busy
in the shop where he works as a lotto agent, the women who were like my in-laws
would assist me.
“The woman who did this evil work (kidnapping) had been
coming when I was still pregnant with the 14-month-old baby I am nursing. She
kept pestering me that she wanted to work with me but I told her that I did not
need assistance.
“About a month after I resumed work, having spent 41 days at
home after delivery, she came again and I still insisted that I did not need an
assistant. She told me that she wanted to leave where she was working because
she was being owed salary. I replied that I would not a similar situation to
occur in our relationship because the children were enough to take care of my
own needs.
“I told her that I would like to inform my husband which I
did by calling him. But he could not come because he was busy in his office.
The woman told me she would come back the following day. The following morning,
when I got to the lesson, at a little after 8a.m., I met the woman waiting for
me.
“Shortly after, my husband came and saw her too. I said I
would be paying her N3,000 monthly and she agreed. My husband left for his
office and I decided to make the rounds to pick my pupils.
“I went the first round to pick the children and I met the
lady on my return. I went the second round and still met her. Even some parents
who brought their children themselves saw her.
“It was on my return after the third round that she was no
longer around. I also noticed that one of the children, Abdusalam, was missing.
I shouted and the elderly women around came. I quickly called my husband on the
phone and he came. I met one of the parents who just brought her child in and
she said she did not meet anyone.
That was how we noticed that Abigail, Samson, Chidiebere and
Onyiyechukwu were also missing. The last two children are siblings Samson, who
is three years old later walked back to us.”
When asked if she could identify the woman, Mrs Olatunbosun
replied that she could.
Crime Reports learnt that the Idi Omo neighbourhood was
immediately thrown into confusion as residents, especially the youths and
parents of the missing pupils, started searching for the woman and the
children. The mother of two of the missing children who are sisters was
reported to have collapsed immediately and had since been on admission. The
older of her two kids is three.
But the police image maker in Oyo State, Olabisi
Okuwobi-Ilobanafor said that Commissioner of Police, Kola Shodipo has put his
men on their toes to unravel the
identity of the woman, with a view to
arresting her.
