How we were kidnapped by barber -6-year old narrates

Six-year-old Jumai Badmos who was kidnapped on Wednesday afternoon at the Igando area of Lagos State with her four-year-old sister, Ayo,narrated how they were kidnapped . The children were rescued Wednesday night by the police while two of the suspects, Uche Emeruwa, the barber and a Prophet, Kenneth Alozie were arrested.
Jumai who was at the police command Ikeja Thursday in company of her sister and mother, said they started crying after waiting for long without seeing their mother.

She said:
“We were coming back from lesson when brother barber called us and said that our mummy told him to buy something for us. He bought Caprisone and then he said that we should follow him where our mummy is. He took us to a house and in that place, there were children and one of the big girls there braided our hair. They gave us rice, soup and meat“Then he said we should go with him and wait at the bus stop and when we were going, one brother washing car said that the woman was coming. We went to the bus stop and from there they took us to another place. It does not look like church. It was there we started crying because we did not see our mummy. And it was at that place that police came,” she narrated.

Emeruwa who admitted to have lured the children with biscuit and drink, said he was contacted by one Mama Chioma alias Chairlady to abduct two children and take to Prophet Alozie.
The suspect, who claimed to be an apprentice at the Barbing saloon, said the woman told him that the prophet will “work” on him so that he can be getting children without being caught.
According to him, the siblings were his first victims, adding that he was asked to bring N6,000 for the special prayers.

“I went with the woman and the children to a prophet who asked me to bring N6,000 for a charm that will enable me bring them more children without being caught.
“I told the children that I will buy them biscuit after which they followed me to where I delivered them to the woman at Akesan bus stop, Igando.

“I knew the prophet through Chairlady and she knew me through a friend who gave her my number to contact me. This is the first time I am doing this,” he claimed.

The toddler’s mother, Monsurat Badmos, said she became apprehensive when she did not see her children at the time they were supposed to be back.

“When I did not see my children, I ran to their school and was told they had left but one of the kids around later told me that my children were seen with one Uche, a barber. I quickly went to report at the police station and the policemen went on the trail of Uche at the barbing salon.“Uche was not at the salon and his phone number was not reachable but his boss was at the salon. Uche’s boss was told to produce him or risk being arrested but Uche was later apprehended on his way back and taken to the police station where he first denied but confessed and the other prophet, his accomplice, was arrested,” she said.

But the prophet who denied knowing anything about the kidnap said Emeruwa told him that the children were his and their mother abandoned them for over a year.

“He came to my place with the children and said that they are his kids. That their mother abandoned them for over one year that he needs prayers for their mother to return.  I did not know they were kidnapped and I am not into such business,” he claimed.

 Police Commissioner Fatai Owoseni said the command was on the trail of the woman, to ascertain if there were more victims in her custody.

The Nation