'I was strangled, tied up' ─ Kidnapped six-year-old boy recounts

A six-year-old boy, Emmanuel Emeka, who was rescued from a suspected kidnapper on Wednesday in the Ikorodu area of Lagos, has recounted how he was lured, seized and tied up by his abductor.

Emmanuel said the suspect, identified as Mama Ifunaya, who was a neighbour, lured him into her room, strangled him, covered his mouth with clothes before tying him up with rope to prevent him from screaming.

He said, “I wanted to draw water and take my bath before going to school when she told me to come. I went because I know her; she is Mama Ifunnaya. But when I got to her side, she threw me inside her room… she closed her net. She then tied me and put me inside a box.


“I wanted to shout, but I could not shout properly. I heard my mummy’s voice when she was looking for me, but I could not shout. She (pointing to the suspect) is a wicked person.”

Our correspondent observed that Emmanuel’s neck had marks, while his eyes were bloodshot.

PUNCH Metro had reported on Thursday that the victim was kidnapped at the Ologede, Majidun, Ikorodu area. He was said to have been rescued by a mob, which equally beat up the suspect to a pulp. The mother of four was said to have led the mob to a church, saying a prophet sent her to bring the boy.

Our correspondent reported that the mob forced their way into a house near the church, but discovered that the prophet had fled. They were said to have found in the house photographs of previously missing people, mats and calabashes containing unknown substances, including a mentally-challenged man.

PUNCH Metro on Thursday spoke with the victim’s mother, Mrs. Gloria Emeka, who explained that she never suspected her neighbour because while she was searching for her child, the suspect was in her room with her children praying and shouting “holy ghost fire.”

She said she later discovered it was a ploy to prevent her from hearing Emmanuel’s screams. She said, “On Tuesday morning, I was preparing Emmanuel to go to school. He told me he wanted to fetch the water from the well.

“I left him and went inside the kitchen where I was cooking. But what I heard next was the muffled voice of my child and I ran out.

“I began shouting his name, but I didn’t see him. I, however, observed that my neighbour’s door was slightly opened and I entered. I met her children and asked them if they saw Emmanuel, but they said no.

“I looked everywhere without a trace of my son. People joined me and we searched the surroundings, but we couldn’t find him.

“My landlady’s son entered the well to see if he fell into the well, but he came out and said he couldn’t find anything.”

While this was on, Mama Ifunaya was said to have sent her four kids out of the house. PUNCH Metro gathered that more people joined the search party, while Mama Ifunaya stayed in her mini-flat apartment.

“Later, we saw her leaving the house with a box on her head. She said she was travelling. It was my landlady that challenged her why she could go out when everybody was busy searching for Emmanuel.

“The landlady asked her to stop, but she suddenly increased her pace and started running. That was how the landlady shouted, ‘kidnapper, kidnapper’, and people ran after her.”

The box was said to have fallen, and when it was opened, the missing boy was found in it. Our correspondent learnt that a mob would have lynched her but for the intervention of policemen from the Ipakodo Police Division, Ikorodu. She reportedly confessed that a prophet sent her to bring the child.

A police source told our correspondent some witnesses said more than 15 receipts were recovered from the victim. The receipts were said to have shown payment for some past unidentified jobs. The Police Public Relations Officer, Ngozi Braide, had told our correspondent that the suspect would be charged to court as soon as investigations were concluded.