- Parents, guardians tasked on vigilance, safety of wards
- Expert seeks creation of special centre for rescuing abducted, missing young Nigerians
Fear has gripped parents and guardians over increasing incidents of kidnapping of children in their neighbourhoods.
This is coming as security agencies and experts have warned parents to be more security conscious and ensure the safety of their wards.
They raised the alarm that the simmering kidnaping epidemic in the country is already seeping into neighbourhoods.
According to them, kidnappers are now leaving highways, which have been their traditional hunting grounds and perching on streets to abduct children.
This alert became necessary following a worrying surge in the disappearances and suspected kidnapping of children and minors across the country.
One of the recent ugly developments is a case of a female apprentice simply identified as Tawa who reportedly abducted her employer’s child on her first day at work.
Tawa, was said to have disappeared with the male kid, aged one year and three months at Osunjela community, along Ilesa Garage area of Osun State on August 2, 2024.
Confirming the incident, the Public Relations Officer of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Osun State Command, ASC Kehinde Adeleke said the female suspect had approached the woman to learn how to make bags before she committed the crime.
Adeleke disclosed that the bag maker had sent Tawa on an errand before the suspect went along with her two children.
The suspect, according to the NSCDC spokeswoman, discharged the older child and asked her to deliver the potatoes her mistress sent her, before making away with the baby.
“On August 2, 2024, it was reported at the Command’s Headquarters, along Iwo-Ibadan Road, Osun State that a male child aged one year and three months was kidnapped at Osunjela, along Ilesa Garage.
“Discreet investigation revealed that one lady known as Tawa was introduced to the mother of the baby by a family friend known as Sodiq, who said Tawa wanted to learn bag making from the woman.
“The very first day the suspect, Tawa, came to work; she carried the baby pretending to be playing with him. She thereafter went out with the baby’s elder sister who is 10 years old, who was sent on an errand alongside the younger brother. While on their way, Tawa asked the baby’s elder sister to go and deliver potatoes to the mother. However, Tawa took away the one year and three months old baby,” Adeleke explained.
Adeleke said the command received two other reports of child kidnapping across the state, expressing concerns over surge in the incidents.
“Also, on the same day, there was a report that a three year old child went missing at Ifesowapo Street, Owode, Osogbo, Osun State. Investigation revealed that the child was last seen playing in a shop and his whereabouts has not been known till now.
“Another five-months-old female child belonging to deaf and dumb parents in Agbeye town, Odo-Otin Local Government of Osun State was kidnapped on Tuesday, 27th August, 2024 in a farm where her mother was gathering firewood. The child was laid under a shade of trees so that the mother could quickly finish packing the firewood. By the time the mother went back to breastfeed the baby, she was nowhere to be found,” she added.
The corps image maker disclosed that the state Commandant of NSCDC, Michael Adaralewa appealed to parents to be vigilant and ensure the safety of their children particularly now that schools are on holiday and children are likely to be in public places without supervision.
She said the command is currently investigating the three cases of child kidnapping, noting that some suspects have been apprehended so far in connection with the crime.
The United Nations Children’s Fund had said over 1,680 children were abducted and about 180 killed in attacks on Nigerian schools by non-state actors in the last 10 years.
Bemoaning the spate of attacks on children, a security expert, Olatunbosun Abolarin called on the Federal Government to create a special centre for reporting and rescuing abducted and missing children.
According to Abolarin, it is very worrisome that kidnappers now perch like eagles on streets and residential areas looking for youngsters to devour, saying since the Nigeria Police Force appears overburdened, a special unit should be established solely for immediate response on disappearance of young Nigerians.
He sought for empowerment of National for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons and urged the police not to wait till 24 hours before activating action on reports of missing children or their abduction.
The expert admonished parents and guardians to be more security conscious and desist from allowing their wards roam streets.
“The kidnappers are out on the road. They have grown so much that there are daily kidnappings. There are kidnappers in transit. They are everywhere on the road. We can’t continue like this. More worrisome development is that kidnappers are now perching on streets like eagles. Something urgent should be done.
“In the midst of these scary incidents, you still find children roaming streets and you will be forced to ask where their parents are. Parents need to take more responsibility. Parents don’t look after children anymore and if this continues, it will be a path on the back of abductors. Nigerian parents need to be more careful,” he said.
“Police need to do their bit too in ensuring that we tackle this menace. Police need not wait till 24 hours before tracking reports of missing children. Why wait until 24 hours in a country where 250 children are being carried and we have not been able to recover all of them?
“The police need resources to be able to track criminals, it is not a rocket science. Build a centre for them where they can carry out actions immediately and do something about it. We have police officers who have taken it upon themselves to train themselves. Let us create a special centre for kidnapping and missing person with the aim of being able to track and recover and curb insecurity effectively without having to worry about buying the statement form, worrying about vehicle to move on time, because if the police don’t move on time to the scene of the crime, the criminal don’t wait, they are moving
“NAPTIP needs to be more empowered. Give them the needed resources because these incidents are really tormenting people. This morning alone, I have seen online three children missing between Osun, Ibadan and Abuja,” Abolarin added.
