It
was a narrow escape for a SSS 2 student of State High School, Alimosho, a
suburb of Lagos, Master Israel Ibikunle, after he was allegedly abducted on his
way home by suspected ritual killers on Monday May 30, 2016.
It
was gathered that the boy, who was living with one of his relatives on No 8,
Ifeoluwa Street, Ipaja, was returning home from where he had gone to fetch
water when he was seized by some men in an unmarked vehicle a few metres to his
residence.
According
to the boy, sensing that his cries might attract passers-by, his abductors
quickly covered his mouth with handkerchief and bundled him into their vehicle,
where he also met two other victims.
He
said:” I had gone to collect ‘change’ (balance) from where I fetched water at
about 7 pm when I was abducted by some men who parked their car at a nearby
junction.
“I
tried to raise the alarm but I was gaggled with a handkerchief by my captors
who threw me into their vehicle and zoomed off.
I
met two other victims, including a girl, inside the car and a female member of
the gang dealt gave me several slaps and destroyed my handset perhaps to
prevent me from using it to call my relatives.”
Israel
disclosed that he was blindfolded and beaten up by his captors until they
arrived at their den somewhere between Ayobo, Lagos State, and Itele area of
Ota in Ogun State.
“We
were driven for hours until they finally stopped at a place in a forest between
Ayobo and Itele area of Lagos and Ogun states respectively.
“They
removed the blindfold and the only woman among my captors hit me and the girl
with a fetish substance on the chest several times. When her efforts failed to
produce favourable result, she ordered that we should be released, saying:
”Awon eleyi o wulo fun nkan ta fe lowon fun o (These ones are not useful for
any rituals). It then dawned on me that they were ritual killers prowling the
neighbourhood for young victims.
“The
girl and I were dragged out and released late in the night and we trekked for
hours until we got separated and fled in different directions. I was weak and
by the time I was found in the wee hours of Tuesday by members of the vigilance
group who had been alerted by my guardian, I almost passed out”.
Speakingon
the matter , Israel’s guardian, who identified herself simply as Funmi, said:
“I left him (Israel) at home with my children not knowing that all was not
well. I returned home only to discover that he was nowhere to be found. He left
my children with one of our neighbours and I was hoping that he would soon
return until late in the night. I was told that he left home to fetch water in
a nearby building and had not been seen since. We organised a search party for
him and combed everywhere in the Ipaja neighbourhood till around midnight but
he was not found.
We were on our way to the nearest police station when some
members of vigilance group turned us back and promised to search for him.
“We
were shocked when they brought him home in the wee hours of Monday looking very
unkempt and weak. He had bruises on his body and could barely talk until the
next day”.
Tags
Society