Posted on: 12:30 Fri, 18 Mar 2016



A six-year-old schoolgirl,
Oluwajuwon Akinsanya, has been
abducted by unidentified persons
at the Ojo Military Cantonment,
Lagos.

The primary one pupil of Maryam
Bliss International School, Ojo, was
said to be sleeping in the room
with her parents in Block II, Flat 5,
Engineer Quarters, when she was
whisked away by the abductors.

PUNCH Metro learnt that the men
also stole the phone, money and
recharge cards (vouchers) of the
victim’s parents.Her mother,
Yetunde, told our correspondent
that the family had yet to be
contacted by the abductors since
the incident happened in January.

She stated that she had visited more
than 200 places seeking help,
adding that she was sexually
harassed in one of the religious
houses she visited.

Yetunde said,
“On January 20, 2016, around
4.30am, while we were asleep, I
suddenly heard a loud noise and I
woke up.

“I checked the floor where my
daughter normally slept, but I
didn’t see her. Her younger
brother, Enoch, was on the bed
with my husband and I. I thought
she went to the toilet to urinate.

“However, when I checked the
place, I didn’t find her. It was when
I got to the kitchen and met the
door opened that I knew intruders
had come in.

They came in from the
kitchen.“They took my bag and
removed all the money there. They
also emptied my purse where I kept
the recharge cards I sold to people.
My husband’s phone was equally
taken away.”

She said she reported the matter to
the Ojo Barracks Military Police
and the victim’s father was
arrested. She said the military
authorities said her husband was
the first suspect.He was, however,
later released and three other
suspects arrested.

The suspects – Mercy Akere, Ayodeji
Akinsanya and Segun Akinsanya –
were alleged to have been accused
by Yetunde of issuing threats
against her family.

Our correspondent gathered that
the military later released the
suspects, saying there was no
evidence against them.

Yetunde, a trader, said a member
of her husband’s family took her to
an orthodox church for help.She
alleged that the pastor after giving
her a fake prophecy of her
daughter’s whereabouts, sexually
harassed her.

“I complained to my in-law who
took me to his church, and he called
the pastor in my presence to
challenge him.

“The pastor told him on the
telephone that he only used a
candle to rub my breasts because
that was what my child sucked; and
my private parts, because that was
where she came out from. He said
he did it so that the deliverance
would be quicker,” she said.

Oluwajuwon’s mother, who
expressed dissatisfaction at the way
the military were handling the
case, said she asked for a transfer
to a civilian police station, but the
Officer-in-Charge, Major Obot,
refused.

When contacted, Major Obot
declined comment, saying he was
not authorised to speak with
PUNCH Metro.

“I am not the right person to talk
about the case. The child’s father is
a military officer and the case is
being handled by the military
because it happened in the
barracks,” he said.

The victim’s father, Sunday, a
sergeant, said he did not suspect
his relatives or girlfriend, adding
that he was also not in support of
the matter being transferred from
the military.

He said, “My wife is only
suspecting my relatives and
girlfriend because before this
incident happened, we had a
misunderstanding.

“I am a military officer and I can
tell you that investigations are
ongoing. I suspect those who
surround my wife, but I know soon,
God will expose those behind this.”

Sunday’s brother, Segun, who was
among those initially arrested,
denied knowing anything about the
abduction of the child.He said he
had not been in talking terms with
Yetunde prior to the incident,
adding she wanted to get back at
him with the incident.

A counsel in the Femi Falana
Chamber, Mrs. Olakitan Boluagbaje,
said the chamber was preparing a
petition to the state Commissioner
of Police, Fatai Owoseni, for the
case to be transferred from the
military police.

She said, “I can’t imagine that such
a thing could happen in a military
barracks. And the way the military
officers are handling the matter is
pathetic.

“The main actors in this case are
civilians, and it is only reasonable
that the case is transferred to the
police. We will be writing the CP to
request the transfer of the case to
him.”