Bricklayer Abducts Four-Year-Old Girl In Ogun State

A bricklayer named Ola Ibikunle, has been apprehended by the police for the alleged abduction of a four-year-old girl in the Oyero area of Ijoko, Ogun State.

The bricklayer, according to Punch, was caught by passersby just as he was about to strangle the victim, Eniola, in an uncompleted building.

Sources say the suspect was beaten by an angry mob before he was handed over to operatives of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad of the Agbado Police Division.

Punch reports that the suspect ambushed Eniola and her 11-year-old sister, Opeyemi, as they accompanied their father, Segun Quadri, to a church in Ijoko around 2 pm on Tuesday.

According to sources, the father had gone some distance ahead of the children when the suspect ambushed the sisters and abducted Eniola. The victim’s sister raised the alarm which caught the attention of some passersby.

The suspect confessed to Punch reporters that Eniola was his second victim, as he had previously stolen a three-year-old boy around the Ijoko area sometime in June and sold him to a man in the Sango area of the state 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.”

The suspect, who hails from Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State, added, “This girl (Eniola) was the second child I would abduct, but I did not succeed.”

According to a police source who spoke to Punch correspondents, efforts were being made to apprehend the buyer of the abducted children.

The source affirmed, “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 Ogun State acting Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Abimbola Oyeyemi, confirmed that investigations had commenced.

He said, “It is a case of suspected child stealing. The police were able to arrest the suspect with the help of residents. The Commissioner of Police, Ahmed Iliyasu, has directed that the suspect should be transferred to the command headquarters for a thorough investigation.”

Photo credit: Punch